Hinata-Sama
by NinjaGirl15
Summary: Hinata has always sought to find her own path, to be strong in her own way. She had always been called useless, worthless, and a burden, however she hopes to change her life by becoming the greatest ninja ever to come out of the Hyuga clan.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH MASASHI KISHIMOTO! So relax all you people in the copyright infringement area.

A/N: This story takes place at the beginning of episode 3, the day when all our favorite characters were just getting assigned to their teams. Hinata is the main character of these stories. Also, all of the teams are mixed up. Who's with who? You'll find out soon enough. WARNING: CONTENTS MAY CONTAIN SHIPPINGS THAT ARE NOT CANON WITH THE ORIGINAL STORY BECAUSE…FANFICTION, THAT'S WHY.

Chapter 1: ENTER, HINATA HYUGA.

_So…today's the big day. I'm officially a Genin, a real ninja…in training at least._

Hinata thought as she looked at herself in her body-sized mirror. She was wearing her dark blue ninja sandles, short pants, with a short sleeve black shirt which remained hidden under her thick, tannish jacket. Even though it was the middle of what may have been the warmest summer of Konoha, Hinata was still insistent on wearing that thick, furry, winter coat. It seemed that no matter how warm it was outside, she was always cold. Hinata started to think that maybe she was always so cold because of the house she grew up in. The honorable Hyuga Clan of the Hidden leaf village, a clan well known for their special kekkai genkai, the Byakugan, which was passed down from generation to generation through their bloodline. This is the clan that Hinata had been born into. Not only is she a member of this prestigious clan, but she is also the Hyuga heiress…or at least she used to be. She's not even sure anymore. Her father believes her to be completely worthless. Weaker than even her 7 year old baby sister, Hanabi. To say that Hiashi was disappointed in Hinata's lack of fighting talent was an understatement. It's not that she didn't try, he just never gave her much of chance. She could never pick up on everything right away and he was so quick to give up on her. But Hanabi…was born with such natural talents that she didn't really have to work for.

Hinata picked up her ninja headband, which lay on the nearby dresser. She displayed it in front of her with both hands on either side of the metal brace, while she stared at her reflection in the engraved silver. Looking this headband…made her think of one person. "Naruto" she whispered to herself. She began having flashbacks of watching Naruto fail at making a simple shadow clone jutsu. She remembered how everyone laughed at him, teased him, and taunted him. She looked back at how he failed the graduation exam for the third time a few days ago. Yet…Naruto never gave up on himself. Despite having no support from anyone, no family, no friends…he never gave up. He is always trying, doing his best, even if he fails. Naruto was always an inspiration to Hinata. It saddened her that he didn't pass this year's exam. Still, simply thinking of Naruto gave her a little bit of strength, but more importantly, hope.

_I'm going to prove to father…to everyone…that I am not worthless. I will become a great ninja someday. Then maybe…maybe father will accept me…maybe…I won't feel like such a burden anymore._

Having given herself a mental pep talk, Hinata tied the headband around her neck and left her room. She ran down the hall and prepared to turn right at the hall's end, planning to head straight for the door. She had gotten up really early, it was only 6:30am and she didn't need to be at the academy until 8, but she made it a habit of hers to never be late, always early. She didn't want to be troublesome, as she knew her instructors despised it when students were late.

Suddenly Hinata was startled when she attempted to make a right turn towards the exit, only to turn and nearly run into a tall man with long brown hair and piercing white eyes wearing a silk grey kimono. Hinata stopped in her tracks to gaze at what she believed was the only man who could look threatening wearing a bathrobe. "F-Father…" She said softly, bowing her head, not only as a sign of respect, but also as a way to avoid making eye contact with him. "Good…good morning." "Hn…" Hiashi responded. Not that Hinata expected him to actually respond to her.

Hiashi was about to ask his daughter where she was going at such an early hour when he noticed a certain leaf village headband around her neck. Hinata's head bow would make it difficult for a normal person to see her neck but nothing is invisible to the eyes of Hiashi. Hinata lifted her head as she prepared to run outside of the house as quickly as possible. Interactions with her father only lead to mental abuse and even greater damage to her self-esteem. However, Hiashi surprised his daughter by actually preparing to speak, though Hinata was sure that his words would not be the 'have a nice day' that most parents would tell their kids. "I see you've managed to become a Genin now." Hiashi spoke in a low, monotone voice. Hinata blinked. There was no insult in that last sentence. She looked at her father's face, not the eyes though-never the eyes-and wasn't surprised to see the usual scowl that seemed to be permanently plastered on his face. Though she was surprised by the lack of disdain and disappointment in her father's voice. "At least you aren't completely useless." Ah, there it is. Hinata lowered her head once more. Hiashi walked around his stagnant daughter and proceeded to walk down the hallway. "Try not to get in anyone's way." Was the last thing that Hiashi said as he disappeared behind the wall. "Yes sir…" Hinata mumbled.

It was 7:00am by the time Hinata arrived at the academy. She entered the nearly-empty building, noting that there were only a few jonin that were there. Though that was to be expected, jonin were elite ninja who took their jobs very seriously. Of course they'd be there an hour early. Hinata was probably the only kid in the whole school who arrived at such an early time, and her teachers loved her for that, yet they could still never remember her name. That's what happens when you're as silent as a ghost.

Hinata stopped in front of room 308, where orientation would be held an hour later. She actually enjoyed arriving early, being the first one in class meant that she got the first choice in seats. The class had three floors, each with three long desks that went across the room and sat three students. There were nine desks in all, three rows and three columns, and then there was an extra floor below the first one, which is where the teacher's desk was. Hinata loved to sit at the far right of the middle desk in the third column. It was the one seat next to the window with a perfect view of the outside. She had no idea, why she loved to sit in that specific seat so much. Maybe it was because she could always get a perfect view of Naruto as he was often being chased around outside by Iruka-sensei and the other Chunin teachers. She giggled as she thought of Naruto, though it saddened her a little that she would not be able to see such sights any longer. Hinata let out a soft sigh as she slid open the classroom door ever so gently.

The classroom was dark and silent, though she didn't have any problems seeing. Hinata took one step inside the room, and then stopped when she suddenly heard the sound of several kunai whipping through the air and coming straight at her. Despite her surprise, Hinata was able to dodge them by jumping to the side, over the stairs, allowing the kunai to bury themselves within the wall behind where she had formerly stood. _Where did those come from?_ Hinata thought as she began to float down to the lower floor of the classroom. However, she landed on the stairs and lost her footing as the moment her weight hit the unstable edge of the last stair and she fell backwards, landing flat on her butt with a painful "oof!" Hinata whined a bit to herself as she slowly began to stand up again. She then focused her eyes on the kunai in the wall, she followed the invisible trail of where they had been thrown from. Her eyes shifted from one side of the room to the other, where she noticed a somewhat familiar figure. "Sasuke…Uchiha…" She whispered to herself. Her eyes widened as she noticed where that raven-tailed boy was located. He was sitting in HER seat, wearing his usually indifferent face, eyes closed, spinning a kunai with one finger. _Did he…? _Hinata wondered, although there was no one else in the room who could have done it and he certainly didn't look too innocent playing with his kunai like that. Hinata decided to walk up the stairs to the back of the left side of the classroom, next to the door. She plucked each of the kunai out of the wall and laid them all neatly in the palm of her delicate hands. Hinata then walked over to her occupied seat and extended her arm to the Uchiha boy, who simply responded to this action by opening one eye and giving her a look that said _What do you want?_. "Did you...Are these yours?" Hinata further extended her arms. Sasuke closed both eyes again. "Idiot." That word stung. "Do you see anyone else in this room? Of course it's mine." Sasuke's voice was full of irritation and hatred, so basically it was his normal voice.

Hinata's face turned red with anger from being insulted, and embarrassment at having some see her earlier fall. She clenched her hands around the handle of the kunai in her hands as she attempted to glare at Sasuke, though she only succeeded in showing an adorable puffed up face that made her look like an upset chibi doll. "Y-You…you could have really hurt me!" Hinata said in a normal-volume voice, though to her, that's the closest that she ever came to yelling. Sasuke jerked his head in her direction, showcasing his mighty glare, truly worth an Oscar. "So? Aren't you a ninja now? If a few kunai is all it takes to throw you off balance then you're nothing but a failure!" He spat with such disdain, as her narrowed his pitch black eyes. Hinata gulped as she began losing what little nerve she had._ A failure…_a word that she absolutely despised. She had heard it so many times in her life. Needless to say that it brought up a lot of suppressed childhood memories. Hinata's face began to burn, she turned her head away from Sasuke, shunning his cold, black eyes in favor of the floor. She felt herself ready to cry. That ice-cold glare reminded her of too many people she knew. Only their eyes were all seeing and all white. _I won't cry. I won't cry! _Hinata told herself repeatedly.

Sasuke continued glaring at Hinata. _Geez…I am really not in the mood to deal with anyone right now. I was hoping if I came here early I could have some time to myself._ Sasuke thought. He was pissed that morning. He had just gotten out of the fight of his life. He was attacked in the middle of the night, by vicious, bloodthirsty beasts that cornered him in the safety of his own home, and these monsters were determined to tear him limb from limb, and almost succeeded in that. He just barely escaped with the clothes on his back and his life. Who are these opponents? FANGIRLS! They are EVERYWHERE!

It was 4am when Sasuke was jolted awake by the sound of voices echoing through his apartment. He jumped out of bed, grabbing the closest kunai he could find, but by then it was too late. The girls were slithering their way from under his bed, through his windows, out of his closet…it was like a nightmare! The young Uchiha had no choice but to grab some clothes, with his headband, and throw himself out the window to escape. He had spent a vast majority of the morning getting rid of those girls, before he was finally able to lose them and come to the academy. Sasuke had spent the last hour trying to fall asleep on these cold, hard, wooden desks, and just as he was about to doze off, in comes the blue haired, pale skinned, ghost of the academy, ruining his only chance to take a nap. Sure, they still had an hour, but he couldn't be caught sleeping in public by anyone. He wouldn't dare! Besides the possibility of fangirl attacks, he had a reputation for always looking cool and calm, he couldn't let anyone see him sleeping in class. It's undignified. Though his pride didn't aid his sleep deprivation, it never helps that he waits until midnight to go to sleep either. He's such a night owl, not that he could help it. He actually feared that the fangirls had finally found him when he threw those kunai. He was hoping to scare them off. Though it was a simple case of mistaken identity for Hinata, he was still upset that he couldn't take his nap now. Besides…Sasuke Uchiha doesn't apologize. Ever. She dodged them and wasn't hurt(physically), so good for her, though he almost laughed at the way she landed. ALMOST.

After successfully resisting the urge to cry, Hinata turned to face Sasuke, who now had his elbows rested on the table with his hands upward, folded so neatly in front of his face, with his eyes closed. _I guess he wouldn't be willing to give up that seat._ Hinata thought._ I wonder what so many girls see in such a guy._ Without saying another word to Sasuke, Hinata walked over to the middle column of desks on the top row, the back of the classroom, where she sat down in the seat to the far left, a good distance from Sasuke. She folded her hands on the desk top and let out a huge sigh. _This day isn't turning out very well so far._ Hinata's gaze drifted over to Sasuke Uchiha, now known as the boy sitting in her favorite seat who just used her for target practice. She squinted her eyes as she looked at him, making a decent glare at the boy who, unfortunately, didn't get to see it._ I'm way too nice._ Hinata laid her head down to rest upon her arms, on top of her warm, soft, jacket sleeves. She needed a nap.

An hour later…

The sounds of dozens of voices filled Hinata's ears, awaking the young Hyuga from her short nap. She blinked her eyes a few times as she waited for her eyes to adjust the light. She looked around to find the classroom almost filled. In fact, it seemed as if the only person that had yet to arrive was Iruka-Sensei. As she scanned the room, she noticed a familiar crop of blonde hair along with an orange jumpsuit. _Naruto! But what is he doing here?_ She thought, before she spotted it! He was talking to Shikamaru, sporting a new forehead protector. "Take a good long look Shikamaru! It's a regulation headband! Looks like we're gonna be training together from now on! Ya know, it's as if this protector was made for me, as if I was born to wear it! Believe it!" Naruto spoke rather fast, but loud and clear enough for Hinata to hear. Someway, somehow, Naruto Uzumaki managed to graduate. _Naruto. You graduated after all. I'm glad._ Hinata blushed a little.

Meanwhile a sound of a running herd of bulls filled the nearby hallway. The door slammed open. Hinata, and several others, turned to look at the door to find Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka attempting to enter the room at the same time. They both got managed to push their way past each other into the room, and then proudly raised their arms declaring "I'M FIRST!" in perfect sync. Those two are always competing with each other. Hinata wasn't surprised to see them racing, though she had to wonder what ever happened to their former friendship when they were little.

Hinata turned back to look at Naruto who, to her surprise was…STARING…AT HER! Naruto was staring at her! She felt her cheeks burn red hot. _He-He's staring at me…_or so she thought. Hinata's blush quickly faded when she noticed that Naruto's affectionate stare shifted. At that moment Sakura had ran from behind Hinata and was headed straight for Naruto. Hinata hung her head in embarrassment. _He was looking at Sakura…not me…_She should have known.

Hinata watched as Naruto stood up to greet Sakura, only to be pushed out of the way and onto the ground. "MOVE IT NARUTO!" Sakura yelled.

"G-Good morning Sasuke." Sakura said in an uncharacteristically sweet voice. Sasuke turned his head slowly to face this blushing, pink haired girl. "Mind if I sit next to you?" Before Sasuke could open his mouth to respond, Ino walked over, grabbing Sakura's arm "Back off forehead! I'm sitting next to Sasuke! I walked into the classroom before you did, everyone saw it!" That last line seemed to be an invitation to all Sasuke's fangirls in the room to join in as another girl with brown hair walked over. "Actually I got here before either of you!" Another girl spoke. "So did I, I'M sitting next to Sasuke." And that was it, a whole argument started over this. _Clueless._ Sasuke thought as he turned his head back in the other direction, closing his eyes. _It's just a seat._

Hinata shook her head. _I wonder what those girls see in Sasuke? He's cute, but he's so cold and mean. _Hinata thought as she had a flashback of his earlier attempt on her life. She couldn't understand how such a guy could have so many fans, especially when no one knows anything about him, besides his name and the fact that he likes girls with long hair. Hinata's gazed turned back to Naruto who was still on the floor. _Oh Naruto…_ Hinata watched sympathetically as Sasuke's fangirls began to beat Naruto mercilessly. Hinata turned her head, she couldn't bear to watch. The sounds of broken bones filled the classroom as all the other boys began to huddle in one corner, trying to distance themselves as much as possible from those merciless girls. Though the beat down would soon be over as the teacher's door slid open. "Good Morning Class. Sorry I'm late." Iruka-Sensei said as he walked into the classroom.

(the Speech)

"As of today you are all Genin, official ninjas. You've faced many challenges to get here, but this is only the beginning. Today you will all be put into three-man squads which shall be lead by a Jonin, an elite ninja." Silence filled the room as everyone began to react to the news of three man squads differently while Iruka began calling teams.

_Cha! I'm definitely gonna be with Sasuke! There's no doubt about it!_ Inner Sakura declared within Sakura's mind.

_A three man squad…tch…that will only slow me down. _Sasuke thought as he imagined what would be the worst possible teammates._ As long as I don't have to deal with Naruto…_

_I wanna be with Sakura and well…I don't care just as long as it's not Sasuke._ Naruto sat there imagining how much bad luck Sasuke would bring with his army of fangirls.

Hinata simply stared at Naruto. Her thoughts made clear.

"Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha…"

A hush fell over the room as all the girls began intensely staring down Iruka-Sensei who couldn't help but sweat drop. _If only these girls spent half as much time training as they did fawning over Sasuke _He shook his head_. I feel sorry for this poor girl._ Iruka thought to himself. Iruka cleared his throat before he resumed speaking "…Hinata Hyuga"

"WHAT?!" The whole room erupted at once. Hinata's eyes swelled to the size of her fist, as she dared to look down in terror at all the jealous fangirls who had suddenly turned their vicious and vengeful eyes on her.

"That ghost is on Sasuke's team?! What a joke!"

"It's always the quiet ones!"

"We should have known better!"

Hinata began sweating, as she actually began to genuinely fear for her life at that moment. Those girls were making it seem like she picked the teams herself. Hinata looked over towards Sasuke, who still had his hands folded in front of his face as he stared at nothing in particular. _I don't think I can do this…_ Hinata sweat dropped.

Iruka eased the class as he continued to speak "…and finally, Naruto Uzumaki."

"HUH?!" Naruto screamed as Hinata's face suddenly lit up like the morning sun. Naruto was on her team too! She almost felt like standing up and shouting herself. _Naruto…Naruto and I will be together on the same team!_ She giggled to herself, but quickly stopped as the two fangirls in front of her suspected that she was giggling for Sasuke.

_Man, why don't I just crawl under a rock and die?_ Naruto thought to himself as he slouched downward in his seat. He just had to be on the same team as Sasuke! And Hinata…it's not that Naruto didn't like her, he just didn't know her all that well, she was always so quiet and gloomy , and he really wanted to be on the same team as Sakura. Naruto, being the boisterous person that he is, decided to protest this outrage! He shot up out of his seat, facing Iruka with his arm outstretch and his finger pointing over to Sasuke. "IRUKA SENSEI! Why does a great ninja like me, have to be stuck on the same team with a guy like HIM?!"

Iruka sighed as he responded, "Sasuke had the best scores of all the graduating class, while you Naruto, had the worst scores. So we decided to put the best with the worst."

Naruto growled as Iruka finished that last sentence, causing other students in the room to laugh at him.

For once Sasuke found himself agreeing with Naruto. It wasn't fair that he had to be stuck on the same team with someone as low class as Naruto. Sasuke had never really seen Hinata's scores, but from her clumsy fumbling over a few kunai earlier, he suspected that she wasn't any better. "Just make sure you don't get in my way, loser." Sasuke said calmly without even looking in Naruto's direction. "What did you say?!" Naruto shouted as he shook his fists angrily in front of his face. "Hard of hearing?" Sasuke teased as more laughter filled the room.

Sakura would have normally told Naruto off, but she had her eyes fixated on a certain blue-haired, pale skinned Hyuga. "I can't believe SHE'S on Sasuke's team…of all people…why couldn't it have been me instead?" Sakura mumbled to herself as she mentally began tearing Hinata apart, as if it was her fault that she was on Sasuke's team.

"AHEM!" Iruka coughed loudly. "Shall we continue?"

The kids all stopped laughing and paid attention to Iruka as he continued to announce teams.

"Any ways…Team 8: Sakura Haruno…Kiba Inuzuka…and Choji Akimichi."

Sakura's face dropped once again. "Oh no…the mutt AND food boy. Oh this day couldn't get any worse." Sakura mumbled as she slouched in her chair. Ino, loving every minute of seeing her rival suffer, decided to poke fun at her. "You know bill-board brow, you shouldn't let yourself get so worked up over such trivial things. I'm sure the mutt and the fatso will make great teammates." Ino let out a short giggle. Sakura, feeling so depressed, didn't even feel like responding.

"Well you sure got over that Sasuke thing fast. And here I thought that you'd be flipping your lid." Shikamaru commented.

Ino sighed "Well...I was hoping to get Sasuke for a teammate, but if I couldn't get him then Hinata would be the only other acceptable option. I mean, anyone with half a brain could see that she's got like no interest in Sasuke. I mean look at the homely way she dresses, she'll never get anyone's attention like that. And even if she did like Sasuke, she doesn't have the nerve to ask him out or anything, so it isn't like I've got anything to worry about."

Hinata appreciated that Ino recognized that she didn't like Sasuke…though she did wish that Ino wouldn't talk as if Hinata wasn't in the room at all.

"You girls are really vicious. Why kill each other over a single guy? Especially a guy like Sasuke, he's not even all that great." Shikamaru said flatly.

Ino scoffed at the lazy boy's words. Not believing what she had just heard. "You just don't get it. But I wouldn't really expect a guy as dense as you to understand love. I feel sorry for the poor girl who gets stuck on YOUR team."

"Team 10: Ino Yamanaka…Shikamaru Nara"

"!" Ino's jaw dropped down to the desk as Shikamaru began to chuckle "Hey, what was that you said about feeling sorry for the poor girl stuck on my team?" Ino forced her head into the desk "I'm doomed!"

"…and Shino Aburame."

"Not bug boy too!" Ino shouted as she started pulling at her own hair.

_It looks like everyone is dissatisfied with their teammates. _Shino thought to himself as he adjusted his glasses.

"AHEM!" Iruka attempted to gain his student's attention once more. "Anyway, it's time to break for lunch. Meet back here in two hours, which is when you will meet your new jonin teacher. Class dismissed."

A/N: So that is the first chapter! Not very much action, I know. I did skip a few scenes, because I didn't feel that they were necessary. And as promised, the teams are all mixed up now! MWAHAHA! We'll see a lot more interesting scenes next chapter as well as the Jonin assigned to each squad! Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay chapter 2 is a go people! Chapter 2 is a go for launch! This chapter takes place entirely between the two hour lunch break Iruka gave his students, so it will be a little shorter.

WARNING!: CONTENTS BELOW CONTAIN ABSOLUTE HILARITY AND HINTS AT A NON-CANON SHIPPING BECAUSE…FANFICTION, THAT'S WHY!

Chapter 2: Run! HINATA! RUN!

The moment Iruka disappeared, Sasuke Uchiha jumped out the nearest window. The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with a barrage of girls asking him to eat lunch with them. _I have 2 hours…if I'm lucky, all those girls have left my house and I can take a nap._ Sasuke thought as he began running.

_I wonder why he left so fast…_Hinata blinked, amazed at the speed in which he left. The moment she finished that thought, Hinata found herself the target of the glares of Sasuke's many fan girls. She gulped. Hinata knew what these girls did to people whom they felt were too close to THEIR Sasuke, and even though the two had never talked before that day, just getting assigned to his team was enough to put Hinata Hyuga on the top of their hit list. She trembled with fear as she witnessed their gruesome faces; red with fury and veins sticking out of their foreheads. They were getting ready to pounce, and she knew it. Before they could attack, Hinata followed Sasuke's example and quickly sped out the door, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake.

"AFTER HER!" A random fan girl screamed! It was an order. All of Sasuke's fans rushed out the door and began running down the hallway like a pack of angry bulls following Hinata. Hinata was running as fast as she could. It's times like these that she really wished that she was a little taller, with longer legs to run faster.

It was at this time that Ebisu had exited a nearby classroom, having lost Konohamaru again. "Where is that boy constantly running off too?" Ebisu mumbled under his breath. Suddenly the jonin perked up as he heard footsteps running toward him. With his back turned in the opposite direction, he didn't know for sure, yet he believed that it was none other than the honorable grandson attempting to scare him again. The tall man dressed in all black quickly began shaking his head as he adjusted his Aburame-styled glasses. _Oh. Honorable grandson, as if a mere child would be able to sneak up on an elite jonin, such as myself._ Hinata turned down Ebisu's hallway and the moment she came within a foot of him he suddenly turned around, grabbing her left arm and releasing a victorious laugh. "GOTCHA! You thought you could sneak up on me honorable grands-wait. Who are you?" Ebisu's smile disappeared as he realized he had grabbed someone else entirely. Not wanting to lose face in front of a child, Ebisu began to act like he meant to grab her. "Foolish genin! Trying to attack an elite ninja such as myself? Ha!" Ebisu boasted while Hinata struggled to free her arm. "Please sir, let me go! I need to get out of here!" "It's MISTER sir-master, Jonin, sensei to you!" Ebisu corrected. Seeing no way of escape, and running out of precious time, Hinata couldn't help herself. "I'm sorry but…" Hinata suddenly shifted to a fighting stance. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Hinata shouted as she activated her byakugan, and used her gentle fist to palm Ebisu's stomach, forcing him to release her. Hinata then resumed running as she yelled "I'M SO SORRY!" With his pride hurt, Ebisu rose to his feet immediately and yelled after Hinata, "Grrr…I don't know who you are young lady but when I find you, you are going to be in a world of trouble for this!" Suddenly the ground began to tremble beneath Ebisu's feet. _What's this? An earthquake? _Ebisu wondered. With his back turned to face Hinata's direction, Ebisu failed to notice the herd of fan girls running towards him until it was too late. Comically, Ebisu was trampled by the vicious fangirls who stepped, ran and jumped all over Ebisu. By the time the herd had passed, Ebisu was flat on the ground with nothing but foot prints all over his body and face.

As the fan girls finally reached the outside they noticed that they had lost all sight of Hinata. "Where'd she go?!" One girl asked. "Wasn't anybody watching her?!" Another yelled. "Let's split up! We'll find her sooner or later!" Another said as the group of girls began to separate.

Hinata sighed with sweet relief as she overheard the girls leaving. She escaped by hiding on the roof of a nearby building. With the girls out of sight completely, Hinata finally felt safe enough to come down. She jumped off the roof, ever so gracefully, landing delicately on her feet. She looked around, noticing that the area was completely empty. That little chase around the academy had went on for a full ten minutes. "Everyone's gone...Oh…" Hinata's head lowered. "I guess Naruto's gone as well. And I was really hoping that we could eat lunch together."

It was then that, Hinata began wandering the streets of Konoha, searching for a good place to eat and think. _Why does this have to happen to me?_ _I'm happy that I get to be on the same team as Naruto…but why does Sasuke have to be on it too? _Ever since she first came into contact with that boy, he's done nothing but endanger her life directly and indirectly. Although Hinata always liked to see the best in people, she had a hard time finding the best in that guy. _Maybe this is just a bad day for him…maybe he is a nicer person. I shouldn't be so quick to judge. _Hinata somehow convinced herself that she was going to see the good in her new teammate, even if it kills her. And with this guy…it might.

Once out of her thoughts, Hinata stopped walking as she realized that she was nowhere near a restaurant. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure where she had wandered off to. Hinata had to scan the area around her for a few seconds before she finally recognized where she was. _These are the residential apartments…_Hinata had wondered why all the buildings looked the same. A lot of people lived in these apartments, mostly people who lived alone.

Along the stream of similar buildings Hinata noticed one apartment on the second floor, where three figures stood outside of someone's window. With the sun in her eyes, Hinata had to squint to see them clearly. They were three girls from her class. Her eyes widened as she recognized them as three of Sasuke's fangirls. Noticing a few bushes and trees nearby, Hinata decided to run there before the girls could take notice of her._ That was close. _Hinata sighed._ I wonder what those girls were doing up there? Are they still looking for me?_

Rustle. Rustle.

"Hinata?" A familiar voice spoke in a hushed tone. Hinata looked behind her to see none other than Sasuke Uchiha. "SASUKE!" Hinata shouted without thinking "What are you-?! Mph!" Sasuke quickly covered Hinata's mouth. "Would you be quiet!?" Sasuke whispered loudly. "Keep yelling like that and they'll find us!" Hinata calmed down before she proceeded to peel his hand off her mouth. "Well, what are you hiding for?" She asked. Sasuke closed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest as he attempted to respond while maintain his cool composure. "I'm trying to get into my apartment without getting jumped."

Hinata gave him a blank stare, blinking a few times before she turned to look towards the window, where the fangirls were standing. _He's hiding from them? _"I see…so then that's your home." Hinata took a breath of relief. _So they really weren't after me. That means I don't have to stay and hide here._ Hinata began to stand up slowly when she was suddenly pulled back down by Sasuke. "What are you doing?" Hinata asked softly. "You can't go anywhere! If you suddenly jump out, they'll know where I'm hiding." Sasuke stated. "So I just have to wait here with you until they leave?" She pouted. "It's your own fault for coming here! Now why don't you make yourself useful and help me think of a plan, teammate." It sounded less like an idea and more like a command the way Sasuke said it. _B-But I have no reason to hide anymore…and I'm really hungry…_ Hinata wanted to say, but after seeing that her new teammate needed her help, she couldn't bring herself to refuse. Curse her kind and helpful nature! "Alright, I'll help you." Hinata sighed, _I DID want to build a friendship with him. Maybe if I help him out this once, he'll be a little nicer to me and we can get along better. Besides, the sooner that we end this, the sooner I can eat…_ "So do you have any ideas?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah." Sasuke smirked. Despite being initially upset at Hinata for nearly ruining his hiding spot, it only took him moments to realize that she would be the perfect person to help him as he suddenly thought up a devious plan.

Sasuke waited for the fan girls to look away before whispering to Hinata, "Follow me." He ran out of the bushes and around the corner in the blink of an eye, Hinata followed. Sasuke then began climbing up the tall building across from his apartment. Once he was at the top of the building he stopped to look down at his window, where the three girls still stood. They didn't go far at all. Hinata and Sasuke had simply climbed to the roof of the building directly across from Sasuke's apartment, next to a large oak tree. Hinata looked over at Sasuke, confused. "I thought you wanted to avoid those girls. If they look up they'd be able to see you easily." Hinata stated the obvious. Sasuke smirked in response. "What are you smiling about?" Hinata squinted her eyes as she began to inch away from him. Something felt eerie about this situation. Without saying a word, Sasuke turned towards the fan girls and yelled "HEY!" The three girls immediately looked up at Sasuke with their loving stares of admiration, blushing pink with hearts in their eyes as they started fawning over him.

"What are you doing?! They've seen us!" Hinata took a step back, preparing to run for her life, when Sasuke grabbed Hinata by the arm. Without warning, he forcefully pulled Hinata towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist, locking her in a warm and loving embrace. Hinata's pale cheeks turned red as she stood in Sasuke's arms, with her face buried in his neck. "W-Wh-What are you d-doing!?" Hinata whispered. "You'll see…" Sasuke voice was so calm and alluring that even Hinata's heart skipped a beat. After what felt like an eternity, Sasuke released Hinata from his grip as he raised both of his hands to cup her cheeks. She looked into his ebony black eyes with her snow white orbs, still not quite understanding the situation, not realizing his face inching closer until his lips softly caressed her cheek. Sasuke just kissed her on the cheek!

After the deed was done, Sasuke slowly backed away from Hinata, slipping his hands into his pockets while Hinata simply stared at him. _He…he…k-k…ki…kissed..._Hinata touched her left cheek, her face red as a tomato, her eyes wide open and her mouth agape. She was not sure how to respond to that, she was baffled, confused and caught completely off guard once again by this Uchiha boy. "Why did you-?" Hinata remained in her trance until being cut off by the bloody screams of horror.

"SHE KISSED SASUKE!"

"KILL HER!"

Hinata's blush faded as she became filled with fear. _If those girls weren't planning to leave me alone before, they definitely aren't going to now…_ Hinata sighed, before it hit her. She jerked her head towards Sasuke with an accusatory look. _Did he…? Was he trying to…? No…not even he could be that mean…_

"Looks like the plan worked perfectly." Sasuke commended.

And with that one sentence, Hinata's face completely changed, the color completely drained from her face, she became as pale as the moon. It took her only a few seconds to realize Sasuke's plan. _He…He… _Hinata's eye began to twitch. _HE USED ME AS BAIT! _And the moment it hit her, Hinata felt like something snapped in her brain. Her face distorted as the Hyuga girl found herself filled with so much rage, large veins protruded around Hinata's eyes as her rage activated her Byakugan. Hinata gave Sasuke a glare that would have put even Hiashi's to shame. For the first time in her life, Hinata Hyuga was starting to feel what it was like to HATE someone. Looking at her then, Sasuke had to admit that he almost jumped in fear, though his stoic face didn't show it. Hinata clenched her fists so hard that her pale skin turned completely white and she began trembling with a foreign emotion she discovered was anger. "You…YOU USED ME AS BAIT TO LURE AWAY THOSE GIRLS!" Hinata screamed. Sasuke smirked. "And? It was the only plan I could think of at the moment. If anything, you should blame yourself for agreeing to help me."

The fan girls began running towards them. "If I were you, I'd worry less about me, and more about yourself." Sasuke spoke tauntingly.

_This boy…! _Hinata screamed inside, before taking off running. _Unforgivable! He's completely unforgivable! I change my mind! To mess with girls' feelings like that...Sasuke Uchiha has no redeeming qualities whatsoever! NONE!_

Sasuke watched as Hinata ran away from the three fangirls. _Losers…_He thought before looking over towards his apartment. _Finally…I can get into my house._ Sasuke jumped over to his building and slipped into his home through the opened window. _Ah_ he took a deep breath…it felt so good to be home right now. He heard a familiar scream out the window._ I'm sure she'll be fine. _Sasuke assured himself. He looked over at his clock to see that he only had an hour left for lunch. _Looks like I can forget about that long nap._ Sasuke sucked his teeth before he walked over to the refrigerator. He opened the larger, bottom half of the fridge, reaching inside to grab the plate of rice balls that he had planned to eat for breakfast, before he got attacked. Sasuke set the plate on his small round table, picked up a single rice ball, and walked over to his opened window again as he began to eat. He leaned his back against the bottom wooden frame of the window, looking outside in the direction were Hinata had fled his fan girls. Thinking of Hinata, Sasuke remembered the glare that she had given him. _What was with her eyes?_ He wondered. _It looked like a sort of…kekkai genkai…_while Sasuke was distracted by his own thoughts, an oncoming attacker seized the opportunity to strike, tackling him through the window.

"GOTCHA!" An annoyingly familiar voice yelled. Sasuke barely had time to fully turn around before he was jumped by the one who he deemed, the loser in the orange jumpsuit "Naruto!"

A/N: Hope you enjoyed chapter 2!

For those who may have forgotten, Ebisu is the caretaker of Konohamaru. Watch Naruto Episode 2. Also, this interaction with Hinata and Sasuke happens before the scene in Episode 3, where Naruto attacks Sasuke and ties him up. Just so you know what happened there because I didn't want to rewrite an entire scene that I wasn't really gonna change.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: We're back to the longer chapters! The lunch break is over and we finally get to see their Jonin! Oh, and Hinata, for the most part, will remain sweetheart. However, as she deals with Sasuke and Naruto she will gain more of a back bone, a bit of temper and a lot more confidence.

Chapter 3: Our sensei is…wait, WHO?!

Inside the empty academy classroom were two genin, Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke was sitting down at a desk near the door with his hands folded while Naruto was pacing back and forth impatiently. It had been over an hour since the two genin had returned to class from lunch and there was absolutely no sign of either their teacher or their teammate. And after Naruto's earlier stunt, there was an uneasy silence between him and Sasuke. Still, Naruto couldn't bear to stay quiet any longer. "WHERE THE HECK ARE THEY?!" He blurted. "It's been a whole hour! Everyone else's teams have already met their sensei and left!"

"Whining about it won't make either of them show up any faster. So why do us both a favor and zip it?" Sasuke's stoic tone irritated the wild blonde boy even more. "Of all the people I could have been stuck with, it had to be YOU!" Naruto yelled, pointing his finger at Sasuke for emphasis. "Why couldn't I have gotten Sakura instead? Or heck, even Shikamaru is easier to deal with!" Sasuke closed his eyes, turning his head in the opposite direction. "Not like I got any decent teammates either, loser."

_Loser…_That word urked Naruto more than anything, especially when it came out of THAT guy's mouth. "What's your problem, huh?!" Naruto yelled. "YOU'RE my problem."

_GRRR…._Naruto growled. _There's NO way I can deal with HIM on my team! _The young blonde clenched his fists. Taking note of this, Sasuke cracked his knuckles. "What? You wanna fight again?" Sasuke asked, though it sounded more like a statement. After all, he could always use a new punching bag. Before either one could say or do anything else the classroom door suddenly slid open.

"I'm…I'm back…" a soft voice spoke. Naruto and Sasuke turned to face the figure in the open doorway. In stepped Hinata Hyuga, her hair was as wild as Naruto's, she had scratches and bruises all over, her clothes were dirty and what's worse, her favorite jacket was gone. She was left only wearing her black t-shirt. "Sorry...I'm…late…" Hinata exhaled as she attempted to catch her breath. Hinata felt like fainting.

After chasing Hinata all throughout the village, knocking over food stands, trampling several innocent civilians, and basically leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, Sasuke's fan girls finally managed to corner the poor Hyuga girl. Though she wanted to avoid it, Hinata had no choice but to defend herself. In the end, she won but MAN were those girls vicious. Hinata was starting to see why Sasuke takes such desperate measures to avoid them.

_Still…_Hinata thought, _what he did was cruel._ After taking a moment to catch her breath, Hinata looked over at the always calm and cool, black haired Uchiha.

"I see you managed to escape alive." Sasuke just had to comment. "Good job."

Hinata narrowed her eyes at Sasuke in a weak attempt to glare at him, however she did not have enough energy and simply waved her hand at him. However, despite her earlier rage, Hinata found that she was completely out of fury. In all honesty, Hinata did not know what had come over her earlier. She had never felt so much anger in her life, and certainly had never expressed such anger either. Hinata was beginning to wonder if Sasuke was some sort of bad influence on her.

"Geez, Hinata!" Naruto gawked at her appearance. "What happened to you?! You look like you just got mauled by bears!"

Hinata's head dropped. Not that what he said was far from the truth, but Naruto could be so blunt at times. While she was grateful to have an honest teammate, it didn't really make her feel any better at that moment.

"It doesn't really matter how she looks, at least she's here. Which is more that we can say for that Jonin." Sasuke groaned as the young Uchiha began becoming impatient himself.

"What? You mean he's still not here?" Hinata wondered as she began trying to tame her hair. _That's so strange…all the Jonin I've met are usually so punctual._

Suddenly the door slides open again. All three genin turn to look at the door, expecting to find their Jonin, however, they don't like what they see. A man dressed in all black with Aburame Clan-style glasses wobbled into the room covered in bandages, looking worse than Hinata, leaning on a large walking stick. "Honorable Grandson, are you in here?!" He whined.

_Ebisu…_ Hinata, Sasuke and Naruto all thought at once.

Appearently those dark classes make it difficult for the man to see as it took him a long time before he realized that he was in the wrong classroom. Not that he would ever admit to making a mistake. As usual, the moment Ebisu saw the nine-tailed fox host, he shot him a look of pure disgust. "You again…" He spat.

Naruto's face distorted into one of absolute irritation. "Please don't tell me…that this JOKE-nin is our sensei…"

Hearing Naruto's insult made Ebisu shoot straight up. "JOKE-NIN?!" He scoffed. "I will have you know that I am a fully qualified Jonin of the highest skill and I-! *gasp*" Ebisu's thoughts were interrupted when his gaze trailed over to a certain Hyuga child. "YOU!" he pointed. Hinata jumped a little.

"You are the one who caused THIS!" he accused referring to his various injuries he received from being trampled by fan girls.

"I-I'm sorry…but I…" Hinata began to apologize.

"Whoa, you did THAT to him? That's awesome Hinata!" Naruto complemented as he admired her supposed handiwork.

Hinata had not actually meant to hurt him earlier. But she accepted the complement with a pink blush appearing on her cheeks.

Observing their interaction, Ebisu adjusted his glasses with his left hand, raising his head in snobbish manner. "Hmph." He scoffed. "Little brats. To think that Iruka would allow such troublemakers to become genin!"

"To think anyone allowed you to become a Jonin." Naruto retorted.

"Why you…!" The jonin spat through his teeth.

"Hate to interrupt your arguing with a 12 year old, but are you our jonin or not?" Sasuke finally cut in.

Ebisu jerked his head over to the Uchiha boy, the only person sitting down in the room. _Sasuke Uchiha…the last survivor to the Uchiha clan. Hmph. Quite a smart-mouthed little brat isn't he? He's a perfect match for the rest of this 'team' so called. Well, if these little scoundrels think they can make a fool out of ME then they are gravely mistaken!_

"Yes, I AM in fact your designated jonin. And from now on, you will refer to me as Sensei! Not 'Ebisu' or 'That guy' and CERTAINLY NOT 'joke-nin'! Do I make myself clear?!"

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Naruto complained. "This guy isn't even a real jonin! He can't even keep track of a little brat like Konohamaru!"

Ebisu's eye twitched at Naruto's bold choice in words. "How DARE you refer to the honorable grandson in such a manner!"

"WHATEVER!"

"Insufferable little brat…" he started to lose his patience, "…alright then, just for that little outburst you're all going to be punished! 1000 laps around the academy! BELIEVE IT or NOT, I AM your Jonin, and YOU have to listen to ME or else I'll have you stripped of your MINOR ninja rank and kicked back to the beginning of academy with the 8 year olds!"

Silence. Ebisu folded his arms across his chest, smirking in what he believes is his victory.

"That's funny. I was told differently." An unfamiliar yet stoic voice spoke from behind. Everyone turned around towards the opened window to see a silver haired man with almost his entire face covered, leaning on the window frame. "Howdido." The man spoke in a low, calm voice, raising a single hand to greet them yet his vision was focused on a little orange book in his other hand.

Ebisu's facial expression dropped. "K-Kakashi Hatake!"

_I didn't even hear him…_Sasuke marveled, taken aback by the fact that he didn't even notice his presence until he spoke. _Who is this guy?_

"Kaka-who now? Who are you supposed to be?" Naruto asked, a question that both his teammates shared.

"Well…" Kakashi stepped into the room. "…if this is Team 7, then I'm the person assigned to be your Jonin."

At Kakashi's words, the three genin turned towards the lying scum known as Ebisu with looks of pure irritation adorning each of their faces, to different extents.

"You stupid JOKE-NIN! You LIED to us!" Naruto accused, pointing at Ebisu who was beginning to feel nervous.

"P-Please! I was simply attempting to teach you brats a lesson. Ninja rule # 1: a ninja must be able to see through deception! It's a valuable lesson that you three clearly don't understand. Oh, how I pity you Kakashi, having to deal with such underdeveloped brats. You know you're way too good for these kids! You shouldn't have even come today."

"Hn…" Kakashi sort of didn't care one way or the other.

Each word that came out of Ebisu's mouth was a nerve snapping in Naruto's head. "Brats huh?" Naruto said eerily before making a hand sign.

Kakashi noticed Naruto preparing to perform some sort of jutsu. He watched Naruto's movements, somewhat interested in seeing some of what his future student could do.

"HAREM JUTSU!"

Out of a large poof of smoke appeared several nude Narukos(Naruko is the name for Naruto's female form)covered in smoke, who wrapped themselves around Ebisu, activating his inner pervert. The poor, pathetic man became overwhelmed as his face turned completely red, while blood spurted from his nose. Ebisu threw himself backwards, knocking himself unconscious on the floor.

Kakashi simply stared. _Not bad…but I've seen better._ He stuffed his little orange book down into his pouch.

_Seriously…THAT'S a jonin? _Sasuke wondered.

_That's just…_ Hinata shook her head, feeling ashamed that she ever thought he was a real ninja.

Naruto then undid the jutsu, poofing back to his regular self laughing. "Hahaha! Jonin my butt! This guy has NO skills! Just a lotta hot air!"

Kakashi took a step closer to the three genin, shifting his eye from one genin to another as he examined them closely. _Hm…a loud mouthed brat, a girl who clearly just came out a street fight and a boy who looks like he hasn't been hugged in years. _"How can I put this?" The genin all looked back towards Kakashi. "My first impression of this team…you're a bunch of idiots." All three of their faces dropped.

The group relocated to the garden on the roof of the academy. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke(in that order) sat on a set of long stairs in front of Kakashi, who leaned on a nearby railing as he began to speak "Alright, why don't we start out by getting to know each other better? Each one of you will have a turn to tell me your name, what you like, what you hate, your hobbies and your future goals. Simple enough, right?" Hinata and Naruto nodded their head in agreement as Sasuke merely closed his eyes. Kakashi pointed to Naruto, "You'll go first. Then the girl, and then you." He said, ending at Sasuke who merely responded with a "hn".

"Wait! Sensei, aren't you supposed to start first?" Naruto blurted. "Hm?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I mean if you tell us stuff first we can see how to do it."

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate…nn…I don't really feel like telling you that. Dreams for the future…never really thought about it. And for my hobbies…I have lots of hobbies."

"Well that was totally useless, all he really told us was his name." Naruto mumbled to Hinata.

"Alright, your turn. You in the suit."

"Believe it! My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, especially the ramen Iruka-Sensei buys me at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the ramen in the noodle cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. And my dream is…to become the greatest hokage! So that everyone will have to stop disrespecting me and look UP to me!"

_Well…didn't he grow up to be…something. _"Next."

"My name is…Hinata Hyuga. A-And…w-what I like…" Hinata blushed slightly as her gaze shifting over to Naruto and back. "Huh? Aren't you gonna answer, Hinata?" Poor, clueless Naruto stared at her blankly as she covered her mouth to hide a girlish giggle. "What I hate…?" Hinata's eyes couldn't help but glance over at Sasuke, as he was the first person she thought of when she heard the word 'hate'. Though she more or less disliked him. Sasuke saw Hinata look at him and answered with a simple "Hmph."

_Well isn't that interesting…_ Kakashi thought to himself.

Hinata resumed talking. "In my free time, I like flower pressing and cooking. And my…my dreams for the future…I want to train really hard to become the strongest I can be. I want to be the greatest ninja to ever come out of the Hidden Leaf Village."

_If I've been told correctly, this girl is…_Kakashi cut his thoughts off before he began thinking too deeply. "I see…looks like Naruto might have some competition." he teased.

"HEY!"

"Moving on then…" Kakashi shifted his gaze towards the ever-dreary Uchiha boy. "…you're the last one, sunshine."

Sasuke didn't even want to dignify that with a response at first and silently refused to answer. However after a few seconds he decided to speak. "My name…is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate many things…and I don't particularly like anything. And what I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality." Sasuke tensed. "I am going to restore my clan and **kill **a certain someone."

Silence. All eyes were pointed at Sasuke. Hinata and Naruto sat with their eyes opened wide. As if they expected Sasuke to be joking, but he wasn't.

Naruto began to sweat a little. _Gee…I hope he doesn't mean me…_

Hinata wasn't sure how to react to something like that. _Kill a certain someone?_

_Just as I thought…_Kakashi stared at Sasuke for a few moments, before deciding to break the silence. "Good. You all have unique personalities and you're all different. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

Naruto got excited at hearing the word 'mission', forgetting all about Sasuke's little announcement. "Really? What kind of mission are we doing?!"

"A survival exercise." He answered.

"Survival?" Hinata blinked.

"What are we going to be doing for this survival exercise?" Naruto asked.

"hehehe…" Kakashi laughed deviously. If only they could see the smile he hid underneath his mask, these genin would realize that they were in for some bad news.

_I don't like that laugh…_Sasuke thought, narrowing his eyes at Kakashi.

Hinata's body tensed, as Naruto shot up in irritation. "HEY! What is so funny?!"

Controlling his laughter, Kakashi responded in teasing, sing-song voice "If I tell you…you're not going to like it…"

All three genin were seriously staring at this grey-haired jonin. Kakashi took it as a sign to proceed to talk in a normal tone.

"You see, out of the 24 graduates, only 9 will be accepted as genin, the other 15 will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it, pass-fail test and the chance that you'll fail is at LEAST 66 percent."

DUN-DUN-DUN!

No words can described the genin's faces of shock, fear and irritation.

"See…I told you, you wouldn't like it." Despite the harshness of his words, Kakashi spoke in such a light-hearted tone that it almost made them not believe him. "We'll meet at the designated training area tomorrow morning at 5am. Be ready and bring your ninja gear." The three genin barely listened to a word he said. They had all tensed. Naruto was visibly sweating, Hinata was trembling, even Sasuke had a small drop of sweat dripping down his cheek.

_Grrr…well I'm not going to be weeded out! I'm going to become Hokage some day! I've got to pass this test! Believe it!_

_If I fail, I'd never be able to face father again and what's worse, I'll be separated from Naruto! I can't fail this one!_

_Hmph…_

_Looks like they're starting to get the right idea. _Kakashi mused as he watched their tense expressions. "Well, that's it. You're dismissed." He said, turning his back to them. "Oh, and you'd better skip breakfast tomorrow or else…" pause for dramatic effect. "…you'll puke."

That evening at the Hyuga house, Hinata began preparing for her mysterious mission/test. She sat down on her wooden floor, legs crossed, with several weapons laid out across the floor in front of her, along with her weapons' pouch. There were kunai, shuriken, senbon needles and paper bombs.

_What should I bring for a mission that I know nothing about?_ Hinata wondered. She had considered packing as many weapons as possible in case combat was involved, but having too many weapons would weigh her down and make it difficult to hide. She decided to only bring enough weapons that can fit within her pouch as well as the pockets of her jacket, which she miraculously covered from her earlier fangirl fight site. _It might be a good idea to bring a little bit of everything._ Hinata picked up several kunai and a few shuriken. _I don't think I'll need the senbon needles._ Hinata left the senbon on the floor, then stuffed a few paper bombs inside her pouch, completely filling it.

"Hinata?" A soft voice beckoned. Hinata's rose up towards her opened bedroom door, to see her adorable little sister leaning in the doorway, wearing her usual black training suit which also doubled as her pajamas. "Hanabi…I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Hinata asked. Hanabi shook her head 'no'. "What are you doing?" the 7 year old inquired as she sat down, legs crossed, mirroring her sister. "I'm getting ready for an important mission tomorrow." She explained "And I want to make sure that I'm fully prepared."

Hanabi's eyes focused on Hinata's opened pouch. Within seconds, Hanabi discovered several flaws in her sister's choice of weapons. The little girl then made a reaching motion for the pouch, without words, she was asking permission to see it. Hinata hands the pouch to her. "Shuriken aren't really all that good." Hanabi stated, dumping all of Hinata's packed weapons onto the floor. Hinata looked up at her little sister with surprise. Before she could protest, Hanabi continued to speak "As a gentle-fist user, it's best to use senbon. That way, if you can't get physically close to an opponent, you can still accurately strike their chakra points with the thin needles. You have pretty good aim, sis, so these would probably be the best weapon for you to use." Hanabi gathered all the senbon that were on the floor and filled Hinata's pouch with it. She then reached her little hands for the kunai knives and a few paper bombs. "It's always good to have a few kunai and a bomb or two won't hurt. But you shouldn't fill your pouch up so much, or you'll have a hard time pulling out weapons when you need them the most." As Hanabi finished packing her sister's pouch, she closed the top, then held it out for her sister to take. Hinata gave a faint saddened look as she gazed upon the perfectly packed pouch.

_This is sad…my baby sister knows how to pack for a mission better than I do, and she's not even enrolled in the academy yet._

Hanabi noticed her sister's hesitance and observed her saddened expressions with curiosity. "Hinata?" Hanabi said her name so sweetly, full of concern. Hinata's saddened eyes met her sister's confident ones. She gave Hanabi a light smile as she gently slipped the pouch out of her hand. "Thank you" she whispered. "Have a goodnight." Hinata spoke softly, though it sounded like a command to 'get out of the room'. Hanabi simply stared at Hinata before fully understanding her saddened appearance. The sweet little girl then widely outstretched both arms towards her elder sister, asking for a hug. Hinata was a little surprised by this, due to the lack of familial affection that she was normally shown. But she welcomed it. She pulled her sister closer to her, wrapping her arms around Hanabi, holding her like a teddy bear. The two sisters lovingly embraced each other.

Hanabi stretched her neck, raising her head so that she could whisper in her sister's ear. "You're going to be a great ninja someday. I know it." Hinata's eyes widened. _Hanabi…_She felt tears beginning to swell in her eyes. That kid always knew when Hinata was feeling upset or down. Hanabi was Hinata's only ally in that entire house, the only person Hinata felt close to in her entire family. Hinata would often cook breakfast for her sister, who'd get up early just to eat Hinata's cooking and to talk with her. The elder Hyuga sister then began to feel a little guilty that she, even if only for a moment, felt jealous of her own loving sister."Thank you. Really." Hinata held back her tears, burying her face in her sister's tiny shoulders.

Satisfied with the genuine emotion in her sister's words, Hanabi wiggled out of her sister's embrace and left the room wishing Hinata a soft-spoken "Goodnight" and shutting the door behind her.

Hinata looked down at her ninja headband. _I can't sit around feeling sorry for myself all the time._ She began to reflect. _I have to take action. No matter what the challenge is tomorrow…I WILL pass it! I WILL become a great ninja. And I WILL find my place among this family._ With her will restored, Hinata laid her forehead protector and ninja pouch down next to her intended outfit for the next morning. She then turned out the lights and then comfortably shifted into her nice, warm bed.

It's 5 am, the sky is barely lit as the sun has yet to rise. While most of the village remains asleep, three genin have walked from their homes to the designated training area, where they all came together at the same time. Each of them yawned a 'good morning' to each other, except Sasuke who simply remained silent. All of them looked around, expecting to find their teacher. For some reason, none of them were surprised to find that he wasn't there yet.

"I got a question. Is it the job of all jonin to show up late to everything? Or did we just get a special one?"

"Maybe something happened…" Hinata was trying to cheer Naruto up, when she knew she didn't believe it herself.

As Naruto's mind finally began to wake up, he noticed something. "Hey…you look different." Naruto spoke towards Hinata, who was dressed differently than normal.

Due to her earlier battle with Sasuke's fangirls, Hinata lost her favorite jacket, which was ripped to shreds and far beyond repair. So this morning when she got dressed, she had to find herself a different outfit. She was now wearing black pants with black sandals, a white t shirt underneath an opened, long sleeved black jacket that was nearly as thick as her old one and also had similar white fur trimmings around the bottom of the jacket.

"You look kinda cool like that." Naruto remarked giving his trademark grin. Hinata turned completely red in the face. "T-Th-Thank y-you…" She managed to get out through her stuttering.

Sasuke watched off to the side as his teammates interacted.

The three genin then began their long wait for their Jonin to arrive.

Minutes passed, then hours…before…

"Good morning everyone." Kakashi greeted them happily.

"YOU'RE LATE!" All three genin yelled.

"Sorry, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way to get here." Was the best excuse Kakashi could give and it wasn't at all satisfying for his tired and hungry students.

_What kinda path to get here takes 4 hours to travel?_ Naruto wondered.

"Ahem…all joking aside…let's get started." Kakashi spoke as he set an alarm clock on top of a training post. He clicked down on the clock's start button. "There, it's set for noon."

"Why a clock?" Hinata inquired.

"It's a part of the mission" he answered, raising the curiosity of his genin.

Jingle-Jingle. Kakashi pulled out two bells. "Your mission is simple. All you have to do is take these bells from me before the clock strikes 12. If you do, you pass. If you don't you fail and get sent back to the academy."

"That's it?" Naruto gawked. "If THAT'S all then why couldn't we eat breakfast?"

"Oh, that?" Kakashi paused for a moment. "That was to make it harder on you, to see if you can function under non-ideal conditions."

_Sounds more to me like you just made that up for no reason and found an excuse for it now. _Naruto thought as his and his teammate's stomach began to growl fiercely.

Jingle-Jingle. Forcing her attention off of her empty stomach, Hinata managed to notice something. "Wait a minute. There are only 2 bells, but there are 3 of us."

"Exactly, that way I get to send at least one of you back to the Academy while the other two can pass." Kakashi explained, jingling the two bells. "You may use any weapon or jutsu against me. If you aren't prepared to kill me, then you won't be able to take these bells."

"No sweat! I'll crush you like I did that old pervert!" Naruto declared confidently.

"Oh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Ya know they say the most arrogant ones are usually the weakest link, lowest scores, losers."

"Grr…" Naruto growled as Kakashi's words echoed through his head. Naruto whipped out a kunai and charged the jonin in a blind rage.

"Naruto!" Hinata attempted to warn him.

It only took a second. Naruto was standing with Kakashi behind him. Naruto's arm was being held in a position where he was holding the kunai to the back of his own neck. "Easy, I didn't say start yet." Kakashi spoke.

Hinata and Sasuke jumped back the moment their brains processed what happened.

_That…was so fast! I didn't even see it!_ Hinata marveled.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. _So this is a REAL jonin._

Kakashi released Naruto from his grip, allowing him to fumble forward. "But…you came at me with the full intention of destroying me so…how can I put this? I'm actually starting to like you guys."

"You may begin, NOW!"

A/N: Mwahaha! Evil Cliff hanger! It only gets better from here! Next chapter is where all the action is. Thanks for reading! Aburame-styled glasses are basically the same glasses Shino wears along with other members of his clan.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm back! Beware the LEAF VILLAGE SECRET FINGER JUTSU! 1000YEARS OF DEATH! I skipped the parts where Naruto and Sasuke individually tried to get the bells from Kakashi. Those events still happened, I just didn't want to write them over again.

Chapter 4: The Hidden Meaning Behind The Test!

_This is a massacre!_ Hinata feared whilst hiding under a thick bush. Not even 10 minutes had passed and already Naruto was hanging upside down from a tree and Sasuke was completely buried underground except for his head. Hinata had been able to avoid the real Kakashi and his tricks by using her byakugan. _But hiding isn't good enough…_Hinata tried to convince herself. She was filled with fear, with sweat running down her face, and her heart pounding through her chest. Oh, how she would have loved if this test was a simple hide and seek game. But no…if she was going to get those bells, she would have to get them by fighting Kakashi. All she needed to do was to think of a plan to get one of those bells. Hinata searched for Kakashi-Sensei using her Byakugan. She saw that he was taunting Sasuke. He was saying something about 'the nail that sticks up gets hammered down'.

_He's probably going to come for me next…_ Hinata gulped. She took a deep breath as she reached into her pouch. _Stay calm…all you have to do…is get the bells…nothing else matters…_Kakashi was beginning to walk away from Sasuke, that orange book still in his hand. The bells were hanging off Kakashi's belt and were very loosely attached to him by a thin string. She could easily cut through that, though she knew her sensei was not going to stand still while she threw her senbon at him. He was going to move, and fast. Her eyes might be able to keep up with him but it meant nothing if her body couldn't keep up with her eyes. Hinata sighed, she was just going to have to take her chances and approach the situation carefully.

_Two down, one to go._ Kakashi sighed. He was growing quite tired of the same old kids each year. Brats who believed that just because they earned a headband that they were ninjas, yet never understanding what being a ninja is all about. Oh yes, Kakashi had seen several knuckle heads like Naruto and Sasuke; trying to prove that they can do it all by themselves or trying to prove that they are far above their teammates. It's funny, of all the students that Kakashi had tested, not a single one of them ever thought about working together to get the bells. Teamwork, an answer that's so simple yet appearently not a single team has figured it out. _Perhaps I'll simply leave the three of them tied up for the next few hours. It'll save time, and I'll be able to read my book without all the noise._ On that thought, Kakashi remembered something: the THREE of them. He only captured Naruto and Sasuke so far, and had yet to see Hinata since he began the challenge. _I have to find that other one._ Kakashi added to his mental to-do list before looking up from his book.

As if on cue, Hinata appeared standing before Kakashi. They were across from one another on a straight forward path, which led from the forest clearing where Sasuke was, to the area where Naruto was.

"Well doesn't this save a lot of trouble." Kakashi commented, scratching one more thing off his to-do list. "One-on-One then?" He teased, knowing full well that her teammates were incapacitated. Hinata said nothing. He tilted his head slightly to the left. "What? No sly comments? No bold remarks? Nothing?" Hinata simply fixed her gaze on the advanced jonin before pulling out three kunai knives.

"In case you missed the last two fights, normal attacks don't work on me dear." He attempted to warn her.

Without responding, Hinata throws the knives directly towards him, causing the jonin to sigh. _Don't these kids ever learn?_ Kakashi grabbed the first kunai with one finger in its ring and then he spun it around, effectively blocking the other two. And all of this done while reading his favorite book, of course. However in a quick glance, Kakashi noticed something was off with that third kunai. In a moment he saw that it was carrying a paper bomb. Hinata smirked as she set off the bomb. Kakashi easily escaped the explosion by jumping out of the way. The bomb sent a lot of dust flying up in the air, making it difficult for any normal person to see. In the midst of this dust cloud, Hinata activated her Byakugan to see that the jonin had landed a mere few yards away from the dust cloud.

_He can't see me, but I can see him!_ _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ Hinata created two identical clones. Under the cover of the dust, two Hinatas were able to duck inside the tall shrubs and bushes on either side of the path. By the time the smoke cleared, Kakashi could only see the one Hinata in front of him.

_What is she up to?_ Kakashi wondered(still holding that book though). Kakashi's eyes then narrowed a bit once he saw Hinata's byakugan. _I see…so THAT'S how she's been avoiding me._ Having a decent knowledge of byakugan users and their fighting style, Kakashi knew how potentially dangerous the gentle fist users were. Though he doubted that she would be able to land a hit, he knew better than to underestimate an opponent, remembering how Sasuke had managed to touch a bell just a few minutes ago. Reluctantly, Kakashi put away his orange book.

Hinata charged Kakashi head on, which was surprising coming from someone who had been so careful in hiding a minute ago. He was alert.

Hinata threw a few senbon aimed at his chakra points, which he easily blocked. A few feet from Kakashi, Hinata leaped into the air then dived down about to palm him. Kakashi simply took a step back to avoid the hit, but she wasn't done yet. Hinata firmly landed on her left leg, which she then used to maintain balance while she spun and kicked at the jonin pushing his right hand, which held the kunai, away, while she turned and prepared to strike his unguarded abdomen.

_She's less aggressive than Sasuke, but far more flexible. _Kakashi noted, as prepared to use his left hand to push Hinata back before she could land her attack. At that moment, with both of Kakashi's hands occupied(one having just blocked Hinata's kick, one ready to attack), a second Hinata appeared from the bushes, behind Kakashi to grab the bells.

_A clone…so that's what she was up to._ Kakashi moved his left hand to grab a kunai to throw at the Hinata behind him, while using his right leg to kick the Hinata in front of him away. Both Hinatas disappeared in a puff of smoke. _They were both clones? _In the midst of all this the real Hinata, on the other side of the bush finally takes her perfect shot, throwing the senbon at the string of the bells.

Normally senbon are difficult for even the strongest ninja to avoid. Unlike thick and clanky weapons like shuriken and kunai that whip through the air with an easily detectable sound, senbon are literally needle thin, difficult to see and hardly make any noise when thrown through the air.

Kakashi almost didn't see the senbon, but then the sun shine reflected off the metal needle, giving the jonin all the warning he needed. Not a second too late, Kakashi managed to move, causing the loosely tied bells to bounce upward where one of them was scratched on the surface by the senbon. _Almost gone again…_Kakashi thought to himself, though now he knew where Hinata was hiding.

_I MISSED! But I was so close!_ Hinata pulled out several senbon, preparing to move and try again. However, when Hinata tried to focus on Kakashi, she was shocked to find him gone. _W-Where'd he go?!_ Hinata was still in Byakugan mode, with a 50 metre field of vision, and she could not find Kakashi. He wasn't above, below, behind her, or in front of her! For her not to see him, he'd have to have…_No…even for a jonin that's…but still…_ Some way, somehow, Kakashi Hatake has managed to travel outside of her field of vision within a few seconds. She can no longer see her sensei! Should she be scared or terrified? Suddenly Hinata looked down in front of her noticing a paper bomb. Her eyes widened. _When did he-?_

Meanwhile…

"A ninja must see through deception…BAH!" Naruto mumbled as he finally managed to cut his leg down, causing him to land painfully on his head. "Ow!" He complained, even though his head was way too hard to be seriously injured, he began rubbing the back of his head. "Grr…when I get my hands on that sensei-!" BOOM!

Naruto's head shot up as he looked to see a huge cloud of smoke rising above the tall oak trees just at the edge of the clearing. "What was that?!" Naruto began running towards the explosion, when he spots Hinata, flying up out of the huge dust/smoke cloud and falling onto the ground, not too far off from where Naruto was located. "Hinata!" The blonde boy screamed as he ran to his teammate's side. Hinata was barely conscious, a stream of blood ran down her forehead, and she had burns on her arms, which she had used to shield her face from the blast, not to mention the other cuts and bruises adorning her 12 year old body. "N-Naruto…"

"Not bad." A familiar voice spoke. Naruto and Hinata looked up to see none other than the silver haired jonin, walking out of the dust cloud with his book once again in his hands. "But you're still going to have to do better than that."

As soon as Kakashi finished that last sentence, Sasuke appeared behind him, having somehow gotten out of his earlier state, now attempting to drop kick Kakashi from behind. Without even looking up from his book, the jonin easily reached his right arm back, catching Sasuke's foot in his hand then he threw the Uchiha boy in front of him. Sasuke regained his balance mid-air and slided backwards as he landed on his feet, stopping right next to his teammates.

"ALL of you, are going to have to do much better than that." Kakashi spoke in an uncharacteristically stern tone, closing his beloved book again. "Well, we would've done A LOT better if you didn't tell us not to eat anything ya jerk!" Naruto shouted, as Kakashi silently walked over to the training post, where he changed the clock to timer mode and set it for 30 minutes.

"Wait…what are you doing?" Hinata inquired, as she began to sit up on her own.

"Cutting your time. Instead of another two and a half hours, you now have only 30 minutes to get a bell from me. And what's more…" Kakashi takes one of the bells and throws it into the nearby river. "…now there's only one."

"Wh-Why would you go and do something like that?!" Naruto panicked.

"Believe it or not, there is far more to this exercise than simply earning a bell. There's a meaning behind this test, behind HOW you earn these bells. If you three can't figure out the meaning of this test, then I won't just fail you…" his tone became serious. "…I'll see to it that you are all dropped from the program PERMENANTLY!"

All of their faces tensed at this. Needless to say that Kakashi's words both irritated and confused them all. Ignoring their reactions, the jonin pulled out a single bento box with three sets of chopsticks, and placed them on the ground in front of him.

"I suggest you eat fast." Were the Kakashi's last words before he suddenly poofed away.

"But there's only one lunch…" Naruto stated the obvious.

Sasuke and Naruto glanced over at each other before reaching for the lunchbox at the same time. Both of their hands grabbing either of side of the box.

Naruto pulled the lunch box towards his body "Back off Sasuke! This lunch is mine! Believe it!"

Sasuke then pulled the lunch box towards his own body "Yeah right! I touched a bell earlier. After I eat, I'll be able to get one!"

"But there are three sets of chopsticks…" Hinata whispered while thinking aloud. The Hyuga girl's eyes fixated on the lunch box as it slid back and forth between her two teammates. While she was hungry, and wouldn't mind eating herself, Hinata was more concerned with what Kakashi sensei had said.

_A hidden meaning…? I wonder what he meant by that. Maybe the bells were some sort of hint?_ Hinata began wondering. _He had two bells, even though there were three of us, and we had to get them by noon. Now there's only one bell and three of us. There's one lunch box, but three chopstick sets._ At that moment, the Hyuga girl's eyes opened wide. _Three for one…_

"You guys!" Hinata spoke just barely loud enough for her teammates to hear her. The two boys glared over towards their soft spoken ally, with neither of them releasing the box. "I think I figured out what Kakashi Sensei was talking about earlier! About the meaning behind this test!"

"What meaning?" Sasuke inquired in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

"Didn't you think that it was odd, how Kakashi sensei told us that only two of us could pass if we got the bells? Especially since Iruka sensei told us that genin missions are always carried out in three man squads lead by a jonin. If only two of us passed then the squad would be short the minimum three members."

Both boys continued to stare blankly at the Hyuga girl, with Naruto looking more visibly confused than Sasuke. "Uh…you lost me."

"This test wasn't meant to be taken literally." Hinata explained. "You see…by telling us that only two people could pass the test, it made us think that we had to earn the bells individually when in reality a genin, even the strongest genin, wouldn't be able to steal anything from an elite jonin. It was a losing battle from the start, something that we'd have to realize and accept in order to understand the whole point of this exercise."

"And the point is…?" Sasuke began to get impatient.

"Teamwork." She said sweetly.

"Teamwork?" Naruto repeated.

"That's right. We all tried to get the bells from Kakashi sensei on our own and failed miserably. However if we had attacked him altogether, as a team, we would have been able to get a bell from him. Kakashi sensei wanted us to learn how to work together as one, the three of us as one team. He even left hints."

"Hints?"

Hinata walked over towards the boys. "His first hint was in that time shortage. He told us that we needed to understand the meaning behind this test and that the most important thing was not IF we get the bells, but HOW we got the bells. Then he gave us one lunch box." Hinata lifted the box out of both Naruto and Sasuke's hands. "One lunch box, with three chopstick sets. This one lunch box is something that the three of us were meant to share as a team." Hinata raises the lid off of the box revealing that the food inside was split up into three equal sections. "You see?"

"So…" the gears inside Naruto's brain slowly began to turn. "…Kakashi sensei wanted us to share a lunch?"

Hinata's head dropped. Oh how she adored Naruto, but sometimes his lack of intelligence was difficult to deal with.

"You idiot…she's saying that Kakashi wanted us to work as a team from the start. The three of us as one team." Sasuke clarified.

"R-Right…" Hinata validated.

"However…" Sasuke's tone darkened. "I'm not sure that I want to stake my entire ninja career on one of her ideas. What if she's just over thinking this whole thing? What if he really will only pass one of us?"

"Sasuke…" Hinata began to feel that unpleasant emotion burning inside her again. "…so I take it you still want to try and go after the bells by yourself?"

"Exactly. Even if we work as a team, you two probably would just get in my way."

"THAT'S our problem right there!" Hinata raised her voice as she pointed at Sasuke. The Uchiha boy shot her an angry look, making her pull back her hand, though she wasn't backing down completely. "I-It's that sort of attitude that prevents us from making any kind of progress as a team. You think you're so much better than us, but you failed just as we did to get the bell from Kakashi sensei." She reminded him.

"So it's just me then?" Sasuke retorted. "What about Naruto? Why is it that you always seem to be bearing your fangs at me yet you ignore all of HIS flaws?"

"Um…I…" Hinata couldn't looked down, unable to answer his question.

"You say we can't work as a team because of MY attitude, but you two are just as bad! Naruto!" Sasuke turned his glare to the blonde ninja boy. "You always rush into everything head first without thinking. Always trying to prove that you can do everything on your own. And YOU!" Sasuke turned to Hinata. "Where were you exactly when the two of us were fighting Kakashi alone? Hiding, that's where. Face it, Iruka made a mistake. The three of us aren't compatible at all. And we could never work as a team."

"Then we're all going to fail…" Hinata spoke grimly.

Sasuke turned his back to his two teammates. "You can give up if that's what you want…but I'm going to…"

"Do what?" she cut him off. "If you couldn't get a bell from Kakashi sensei when you were in peak condition, aside from your hunger, how are you going to get a bell from him now that you're all beat up? And you don't have time to rest or plan anything on your own." She pointed out.

Sasuke gritted his teeth in response. "tch".

"So we're just giving up? No way!" Naruto intervened. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you two and I don't care. But…I do agree with Hinata, if we're going to pass this test, we're gonna have to work as a team."

_Naruto…_Hinata blushed slightly.

Naruto then turned to face Hinata. "Which means you two have to get along with each other. Okay?"

Hinata looked over to Sasuke who still had his back turned to them. It was clear that he was weighing his options, though he knew where this whole thing was headed.

Hinata sighed. "Sasuke…" She began "I know that…that we didn't get off to a very good start, with the whole classroom incident and the fan girls…but…I believe that we could still become very good friends. After all, if we all plan on becoming ninja we're all going to meet people we don't like that we still have to work with. We might as well get used to it now."

It was silent for a moment as Naruto and Hinata waited to see what Sasuke's response would be.

The Uchiha boy sighed as he turned to face his teammates. "Fine. It's not like I have any other choice…"

"Alright! Team 7 is not outta the game just yet!" Naruto cheered happily before his stomach began to growl.

"We can talk about strategy as we eat." Sasuke suggested.

Hinata smiled as she handed her two teammates their own chopsticks.

With Kakashi...

"Only 5 minutes left to go…" Kakashi mumbled to himself. "I wonder if they've given up?" The jonin was leaning against a tree in the area where he had fought Sasuke one-on-one.

"HEY YOU!" A familiar and fiery voice bellowed. Kakashi looked up from his book to see Naruto standing a few yards in front of him, and alone.

"Coming at me by yourself again?" He wondered.

"Not exactly. MULTI-SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto yelled as he created 7 solid clones which all began charging towards Kakashi full speed, with one seemingly attempting to sneak up behind the jonin.

_These kids really never learn. As if he could catch me off guard with the same trick twice._ Kakashi slipped his book into his pouch as he prepared to do away with all of the annoying Naruto clones at once. He punched one, causing it to disappear within a puff of smoke. He kicked another, and it disappeared as well. Another clone jumped in the air above Kakashi, attempting to drop kick him. The older man easily blocked this by placing his forearm above his head. Kakashi countered the clone by punching it upwards, hitting its lower back. The clone flew into the air and a puff of smoke appeared around it, however, instead of disappearing this clone was revealed to be Sasuke himself.

_Sasuke! He disguised himself as a Naruto clone?!_ Kakashi narrowed his eyes to see that Sasuke was forming hand signs to perform an advanced jutsu. "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke roared as he spat a ball of fire from his mouth towards his teacher. At their close range, Kakashi barely avoided the attack, taking a huge step back, not noticing that he was jumping right into the arms of another Naruto clone until it was too late. Kakashi glanced back to see the clone charging with a kunai in hand. The clone cut through the tiny string, detaching the bell from its owner, allowing the bell to fly freely into the air. While Kakashi could not stop the clone from cutting off the bell, he could stop the clone from obtaining the bell. Before the it could grab the bell, Kakashi grabbed the clone's arm, spinning it around a few times before releasing it, sending the clone high into the air. The jonin then attempted to reclaim the bell before it hit the ground, but the flying clone poofed into Hinata, who pulled out her senbon and threw it towards Kakashi, forcing him to dodge the attack, jumping to the side, while the real Naruto, supported by several clones, reached for the bell.

"Go Naruto!" Sasuke yelled supportively. "Look out!" Hinata warned as she began to fall out of the air. Instead of moving out of the way, Sasuke outstretched his arms, catching the Hyuga girl in a bridal-style position.

Kakashi watched from the sidelines as Naruto made a jump for the bell. The jonin quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out a shuriken. He threw the shuriken towards the bell, causing it to move and Naruto to land flat on his face. As Naruto barely missed the bell, the sound of the alarm clock went off. Time was up.

All three genin's faces went pale. They failed. And they all knew what that meant.

Hinata stepped down from Sasuke's arms in order to slump to the ground. "We failed…" She despaired as she remembered her sister's words.

"_You're going to be a great ninja someday. I know it."_

A few tears made their way down Hinata's face. _I'm sorry Hanabi…it looks like I won't be able to become a ninja after all. And father…how will I face him now? How am I supposed to prove myself and become stronger if I've failed as ninja? _The tears began to overflow.

Sasuke simply stood with his head lowered, clenching his teeth.

"I…I had it! It was right there!" Naruto slammed his fist against the ground as Kakashi walked over to where the bell had landed.

"Well, time is up and you all failed to obtain a bell." Kakashi picked up the tiny silver trinket, throwing it up once and catching it in the palm of his hand. "I suppose you know what that means, right?"

"It means…" Naruto was the only one who could manage to speak. "…that all three of us…"

"Yes." Kakashi cut him off. "All three of you…PASS."

"WHA-?!" Each of the genin's heads shot up, looking directly at their sensei.

"B-But…we didn't…get a bell. Even working together…" Naruto trailed off.

"That's true but…I never expected you to be able to get the bell in the first place. This test was to see if you three could put aside your personal differences for the sake of the team, which you three did manage to do. So…you pass. You're all official genin now. Congratulations"

Silence.(O.O)

"Hm?" Kakashi was surprised at the lack of reaction as all three genin simply stared at him with their eyes wide open, as if he had grown a second head. "Didn't you hear me? I said…"

"YEEEEAAAAHH! I'M A NINJA NOW!" Naruto jumped up on Kakashi suddenly, giving him a great big bear hug. "Hey!" The jonin shouted as he attempted to pry off his most animated student.

Hinata sighed with relief as she happily wiped her tears from her eyes. _Thank God…_

A finger tapped Hinata's shoulder. She turned around to see Sasuke offering his hand to help her up. And he was…SMILING(O.O!)?! Hinata gladly accepted his hand, showcasing a sweet smile of her own as he helped her up.

"Looks like you weren't totally useless after all." Sasuke smirked.

Hinata smiled. He couldn't do a simple kind act without doing or saying something rude afterwards. Despite this, she was beginning to understand Sasuke a little better. He always had to look cool, even if made him look like a jerk sometimes. That's just who he is, but he seems to have a good heart. Hinata then dawned a rather devious smile herself, causing Sasuke to lose his smirk. The Hyuga girl suddenly wrapped her arms around the Uchiha's waist, locking him in a bear hug similar to Naruto's."H-Hey!" He protested and Hinata could have sworn that she had seen a light pink blush appear on Sasuke's pale cheeks.

"That's what you deserve for all you put me through!" Hinata declared as she giggled. She wasn't going to kiss him, no she'd be too embarrassed to do that. But this seemed like a decent way to get back at the usually 'zero-physical contact' Uchiha. To her surprise, Sasuke wrapped one arm around her waist, somewhat hugging her back as he looked the other way, letting out a simple "hmph."

"Alright team 7 is now official!" Kakashi declared, holding his thumb up.

A/N: Alright! A lot of the hate has disappeared! Next chapter we get to meet up with the other teams for a short, side adventure before we continue with the main story. Next chapter includes: Sasuke running for his life, Hanabi Hyuga, and hints of pairings. Til Next time!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Short Side Story TIME! YAY! This chapter took awhile because it is super long! Like over 10,000 words. It may take a while to get to the actual festival, but hey, this is a long chapter, and you got time! WARNING: SHIPPINGS OF CANON AND UNCANON PROPORTIONS ARE FOUND BELOW! BECAUSE…FANFICTION! THAT'S WHY!

Chapter 5: Summer Festival

It is 9 am in the Hyuga Household. Hiashi is in the training center of the Hyuga estate, sparring with Hanabi. Having been training since 7 am, Hanabi is exhausted, covered with minor cuts and bruises as well as sweat. Despite this, the little Hyuga girl was determined to keep going. She loved training with her father and getting stronger each day. It didn't matter to her how beat up she became in the process, she dreamed of surpassing her father one day and was quickly on the road to becoming an excellent ninja. However, not knowing when to quit was one of her weak points. As Hiashi examined his youngest daughter with his byakugan, he could see that her chakra levels were dangerously low. He deactivated his all seeing eyes. "Alright, that's enough training for today." Despite barely having any breath left in her body, the little girl protested. "B-But I...*huff*…can still…*huff*…" Hiashi put his hand up, signaling to Hanabi to stop talking.

"It's good that you love to train, but if you overdo it, instead of getting stronger you could permanently damage your body. You're still a child and overuse of the Byakugan could temporarily blind you." Hiashi explained. "Besides…it's a special day today, isn't it? You wouldn't want to go blind on the day of the summer festival."

"That's right…" Hanabi suddenly realized that she had somehow forgotten the date of her favorite holiday. When you spend most of your life in the Hyuga estate with little contact with the outside world, you tend to lose track of time.

"You should go shower and eat something. And don't forget to lay out a nice kimono for later." Hiashi turned towards the door, preparing to exit the training room when he felt a light tug on his dark grey kimono. The Hyuga father turned his head to look down at his youngest daughter who was looking up at him with her adorable white orbs. He despaired at such a look, as he knew what it meant. "What is it you want?" he asked plain and simple.

"Uhm…I was wondering…if…" Hanabi was beginning to act like Hinata, her voice trailing off and her eyes lowered to the floor. Hiashi's eyes narrowed. He hated mumbling. Noting her father's apparent irritation, Hanabi quickly spoke up. "…I was hoping you could take me to the top of the Hokage Monument to watch the fireworks from there."

"The Hokage Monument? You are aware that the fireworks display doesn't go off until midnight, correct? None of us will be staying out that late, and you cannot go alone." Hiashi began his lecture. "What's wrong with watching the fireworks from the roof of the estate like you always do?"

Hanabi began twiddling her fingers, mimicking one of her sister's mannerisms. "Well…Hinata said that she was going to watch the fireworks with her team and some other friends…" "…and you want to go with her." Hiashi finished her sentence. Hanabi nodded in response, confirming her father's words. The older Hyuga sighed as he folded his arms across his chest, beginning to think.

"It's not just Hinata and her friends, their jonin is coming along too!" Hanabi was determined to sell her strict father on the idea. "So I'll be surrounded by a bunch of ninja. I'll be safe!"

Hiashi remained silent for a moment before finally speaking. "If you can convince Hinata to take you along then you may go to the festival with her."

"Thank you father." Hanabi bowed respectfully as Hiashi exited the room. As soon as Hanabi heard her father's footsteps fade away, the young girl sped out of the room, running down the hallway headed towards her sister's room. Hanabi slammed opened the door, rushed inside her room and jumped on the bottom of Hinata's bed. "Hinata!" She yelled in an attempt to wake her older sister, who was sleeping with the pillow over her head. Hanabi then crawled her way up to the top of the twin sized bed where she began shaking her sister with one arm as she tried to pry the pillow out of Hinata's hand with her other arm. "Come on, wake up!" Hanabi yelled.

"Mmm…Hanabi…" Hinata groaned softly. Hanabi stopped shaking Hinata as she saw her finally waking up. "What is it?" Hinata asked sleepily as she sat up, hunchbacked, hair messed up, rubbing her eyes.

"Can you take me with you to the summer festival?" Hanabi asked pleadingly.

"Take you with me?" Hinata yawned as she stretched out her arms.

"I already asked father and he said that I can go if you agree to take me so…will you take me with you? Pleeeaaaase?" Hanabi pleaded showcasing her shining white orbs which sparkled in the sunlight that shone through Hinata's window.

Hinata simply blinked at her sister a few times as her brain just began processing her little sister's request. It took a moment before she started to give her response. "Hanabi…" By her sister's somber tone, Hanabi figured that the answer wasn't the one she hoped for. But if she could convince her stone-cold father to let her go, then she could surely convince her sweet sister to let her tag along.

Hanabi gave her sister the sad eyes and began to pout. "Please Hinata? I promise I won't get in the way. I just want to spend time with my big sister."

_But I was hoping to spend some time with Naruto…_Hinata retorted mentally. She had already planned in her head how she would spend the night with Naruto, with the two of them playing festival games together, him winning her prizes, them eating together etc. Hinata blushed slightly at the very idea. However she wasn't going to be able to do that if Hanabi tagged along. Even still, Hinata couldn't bring herself to say 'no' to those adorable eyes of hers, especially when Hinata knew why Hanabi wanted to go with her so bad. Being that Hanabi was now considered the main branch's heiress by her father, he didn't allow her to leave the estate very often as he feared that she could be kidnapped. That being said, she was never allowed to leave the home without an older relative accompanying her. Hinata remembered those times, back when her father still bothered to spend time with her, how she couldn't ever leave the house without her own personal bodyguard, Kou(A/N: Not an OC. Look him up on Narutopedia). In the end, Hinata knew that Hanabi only wanted a little more freedom, and let's face it, their father wasn't exactly a very liberal person. Even when he did allow Hanabi to leave the house, she could never leave his side to go explore, play or do anything. With all of this in mind, the kind and selfless Hinata couldn't bear to deny her little sister an opportunity to have genuine fun for a night, even if she had to give up her plans for Naruto.

After a moment of silence, Hinata finally sighed. "Alright Hanabi, I'll take you with me." At that line Hanabi glomped onto her sister, forcing Hinata to fall back onto the bed. "Thank you so much!". Hinata smiled as she patted her sister on the back. "Alright, alright. My friends will be here to pick us up around noon. So make sure you have something laid out for later."

"Okay!" Hanabi released her sister as she slid off of Hinata's bed, before rushing out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Fully awake, Hinata continued to lay in her bed with her eyes facing the ceiling. _Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever told anyone that I had a little sister. She's always trying to keep me to herself. I wonder how she'll react when she meets everyone._ Hinata imagines her sister attacking the first person who would dare to even say 'hello' to her. Despite being the younger sibling, Hanabi was more protective of Hinata than Hinata was of her. She really did love her little sister though, she kept things interesting around the otherwise docile Hyuga Estate.

Since she was now wide awake, Hinata decided to get up to make her preparations for the festival, which couldn't have come at a better time. As Hinata stole a quick glance over at the forehead protector lying on her dresser, she couldn't help but let out a smile. For the first time in Hinata's life, she could honestly say that she was truly proud of herself. She remembered first holding her headband the day after she became a ninja candidate. Since that day she's already faced several trials; dealing with Sasuke, fighting evil fangirls, and facing Kakashi-Sensei's bell test. And after all that, she's finally become an official ninja and she couldn't be happier with herself. For the first time in Hinata's life, she felt like she wasn't a failure, she felt that she was progressing, growing and learning. Although she knew more difficulties would lie ahead, she told herself that she wouldn't give up, that she would become strong like Naruto and Sasuke both physically and emotionally. With her day brightened, Hinata began to wonder what her teammates were doing now.

**With Naruto and Sasuke…9:15am**

"I can't believe I got dragged into this!" Naruto whined.

"Shut up you loser!" Sasuke scolded in the loudest whisper possible as he quickly punched his teammate in the stomach. Naruto groaned and growled as he held his aching stomach. "Sasuke…" he managed to say through his grumbles. "If you don't shut up, they're going to find us!" the Uchiha spoke before Naruto could even finish talking.

The two rivals were hiding in a closet of an abandoned apartment right underneath Sasuke's. Why? FANGIRLS. That's why.

_Flashback To 9am that morning._

_Naruto had just woken up with his stomach growling. He was desperately in need of some food. He grabbed a half-cleaned bowl from his little pile of bowls stacked above his microwave, and a box of Ramen Flakes which he then poured into the bowl. Naruto then reached for the milk when he his stomach suddenly gurgled. In that instant he remembered 'Wait a minute…this is that expired milk that had me running to the bathroom all day'. Naruto threw the milk carton in the trash. 'Great, now what am I gonna eat?' shops were closed for the festival so he couldn't go get another carton of milk and he wasn't nearly friendly enough with his neighbors for them to let him borrow any. The jerks. 'Wait a minute…neighbors!' Naruto remembered that he did have a certain teammate who lived in the same apartment building. Though he didn't like the idea of asking Sasuke for a favor, he really wanted some milk for his cereal. And if Sasuke said 'no,' he'd just steal it from him anyway._

_With a plan in mind, Naruto walked over to Sasuke's apartment. To his surprise, the Uchiha's door was completely knocked off its hinges, laying flat on the ground with what appeared to be thin claw marks lining several areas around the door itself. "What happened in here?" Naruto wondered. He suddenly felt a pit drop into his stomach as he gazed into Sasuke's room to find that despite it being day outside, it was pitch black in his room. All the windows were covered and Naruto could barely see a few feet in front of him. Despite feeling a twinge of fear, the brave blonde stepped into the room anyway. "S-Sasuke? Are you in here?" Naruto called. He heard giggles in response as he continued walking slowly and cautiously into the room. "Sasuke?" SLAM! It was completely dark now. The door somehow had slammed behind him. Naruto looked behind him but saw nothing, however the moment he turned back around he saw glowing eyes with a yellow spark to them. After adjusting his eyes to the darkness, Naruto would soon realize that these eyes were attached to bodies, he trembled as he figured out not who, but WHAT they were. Fangirls. "Hey…" A feminine voice spoke. "You're not Sasuke." Another one stated. "OF course I'm not Sasuke!" Naruto blurted. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the greatest ninja alive! I'm waaay better than Sasuke! BELIEVE IT!"_

"_Did you hear that boy?"_

"_How DARE he compare himself with OUR Sasuke!"_

"_Let's KILL him!"_

"_Uh-Oh." For once, Naruto did the smart thing and ran for his life. The girls chased the poor ninja boy all over the building before finally Naruto discovered the cracked open door in one of the vacant apartments whose power doesn't work. He decided to hide in there. He rushes inside, slams the door and barricades it with a chair. Naruto then slips into the dark closet. "Those girls are insane." He sighed, speaking to no one in particular. "Tell me about it." An annoyingly stoic voice responded._

_Flashback Over_

Sasuke had been hiding in that closet for about 14 minutes before Naruto showed up. And he was just getting ready to leave, thinking it was safe, but then that IDIOT appeared and basically led those stupid fan girls right to him! Now how are they going to get out of there?

"Naruto, you complete loser!" he spat. "Now we're BOTH gonna be stuck here!"

"ME?! It's YOU they're after, for whatever reason! I'm just an innocent victim here!" The blonde boy responded.

BANG! BANG! Both boys jumped at the sound of hands attempting to break down the door.

"THEY'RE COMING!" Naruto yelled out the obvious.

"YOU IDIOT!" Sasuke punched him on the top of the head. "THINK YOU SCREAMED LOUD ENOUGH?!"

BANG! BANG!

"It looks like we have no choice but to make a run for it! I don't know how far we'll get but...we can't stay here." Sasuke opened the closet door, his eyes fixated on the windows in the apartment. "Let's go!" He ordered as he dashed for the window. "W-Wait what?!" Naruto was taking a moment to process. "WAIT FOR ME!" He yelled as he ran out of the closet, just as the girls had managed to break down the door.

"Sasuke!"

"My Sasuke!"

Aaand THAT was his cue to jump. Sasuke leaped out the window with Naruto following close behind.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY THAT EASY!"

The fan girls followed Sasuke and Naruto's lead as they all plunged from the second floor window, landing softly on the ground below.

"AWW GREAT!" Naruto's eyes became as wide as dinner plates when he looked back to see the girls following not too far behind them. "ANY MORE BRIGHT IDEAS?!"

"SHUT UP YOU IDIOT! IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT FOR GETTING TOO CLOSE!"

"GEEZ, DOES THIS HAPPEN TO EVERYONE WHO COMES TO YOUR PLACE?!"

"ONLY THOSE STUPID ENOUGH TO VISIT MY APARTMENT DIRECTLY! WHY WERE YOU THERE ANYWAY?!"

"I JUST WANTED SOME MILK!"

"I DON'T HAVE ANY MILK!"  
>"SO I'M RUNNING FOR MY LIFE IN VAIN?!"<p>

"IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT! THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD SAVE YOUR MONEY, INSTEAD OF WASTING IT ALL ON RAMEN!"

The two continued arguing with each other as they ran down the streets of the leaf village, pushing through a crowd of innocent bystanders. While running, Naruto spotted his favorite place in the entire village. Ichiraku Ramen. Seeing his safe haven ahead, Naruto suddenly concocted a genius plan.

"Hey, Sasuke, I got an idea!" He yelled.

"This can't be good…" Sasuke lamented the possibility of him relying on any plan created by Naruto.

"Just shut up and do as I do!" Naruto ordered as he made several hand-signs for a transformation jutsu. "We're running into Ichiraku Ramen!"

Sasuke debated arguing with him, but decided that he had no time and mimicked Naruto's transformation hand sign as they approached the shop.

The fan girls were following close behind their two targets when suddenly…POOF! A large puff of smoke appears in front of the girls as they approached Ichiraku Ramen. The herd of girls stopped in their tracks when they noticed their precious Sasuke had gone.

"SASUKE!"

"Oh-no! Where'd he go?!"

The girls all looked in different directions. One of the girls wandered into the ramen shop, scanning the area for her precious target. But no luck.

"Is he in there?"

"No."

"Aw…I have to home and help my mom set up for the festival."

"Me too."

"Too bad, I wanted to ask Sasuke to be my date…"

And with that, the ever persistent fan girl herd disbanded, each going their separate ways.

Little did they know that Naruto and Sasuke were sitting right in front of them at the bar area, only in disguise as Naruko and Sasure. Naruto, in this form, had two long ponytails and was wearing a light pink kimono while Sasuke had long hair tied in low dolphin tail, wearing a baby blue kimono. As they heard the fan girls depart, the two ninja poofed back into their masculine forms letting out a huge sigh of relief.

Naruto snickered. "I told you my plan was pure genius!"

"I can't believe that actually worked. Not bad, loser." Sasuke admitted. "It sounds like they won't be camping out around my apartment tonight either." He smirked, he didn't often have nights where he could simply go home after a fan girl chase. Sitting up from his place at the bar, Sasuke began to leave.

"A bowl of ramen for the genius then?" Teuchi offered, laying down a rather large white bowl filled with ramen. "I heard you've become a ninja now, congratulations! I'll give you a special deal just for that. Buy one get one free!"

"Oh sweet! Ramen!" Naruto was suddenly filled with life, a huge smile appearing on his face, as he began to drool slightly. "You're the best, Teuchi!" Naruto quickly dug down into his pocket, searching for his wallet. His smile then faded and his joy died as he realized something terrible. "I don't have any money!" He agonized. Teuchi stared down at the young boy, who quickly tried to reassure him that he would pay. "D-Don't worry man, I got this!" Naruto turned around to see Sasuke preparing to exit the shop.

"HEY TEAMMATE!" Naruto called. Sasuke turned his head slightly. "Hey, what are the chances of you paying for a bowl of ramen for your dearest friend?" Sasuke turned back around to the shop's exit.

"Drop dead, loser."

**Back at the Hyuga Estate Kitchen-Around 10:45am**

"Is it ready yet?" Hanabi asked while leaning over the kitchen counter, staring longingly at the soup her sister was pouring spices into.

"Almost Hanabi, be patient." Hinata responded.

While her fighting still needed work, Hinata's cooking was second to none and her sister loved it when she agreed to make her favorite food: Mitsuba Soup.

Hinata stirred the small pot of soup with a wooden spoon a few times. After raising the spoon to her lips, taking a small sip of the mitsuba, she nodded to herself in approval. Setting the spoon down, Hinata grabbed a white bowl from the overhead cabinet then poured the soup into the bowl, handing it to Hanabi who almost snatched it away from her.

"Thank you so much!" Hanabi shouted as she ran towards the dinner table. Hinata turned off the stove and grabbed a bowl for herself before joining her sister at the dinner table. She sat directly across from Hanabi who had had lifted the bowl to her face, ignoring the spoon on the table, inhaling most of the soup while the rest of the soup trickled down her face and on to her shirt. Good thing she's wearing black. Hinata giggled at the mess Hanabi was making. The two sisters, moreso Hanabi, acted very differently when they were around each other. As daughters of a prestigious family, Hinata and Hanabi were always expected to act a certain way, in public, around their family, and even when they were just hanging around their father. They always had to act and speak with grace and nobility. However, when it was just the two of them, the girls could speak and act any way they wanted.

By nature, Hanabi was a rowdy tomboy who really hated rules and was never one who approved manners either. In a way she was sort of like Naruto. Hinata really envied her sister for that. For all of her life Hinata had tried to be the perfect daughter to her father, always acting and behaving however he wanted, even when he wasn't around. She had done this so long that it began to take a toll on her own personality. Even when Hiashi wasn't around, Hinata still had an unconscious fear of behaving 'out of order'.

_I wish that I could really be myself. I wish I was a more confident person like Hanabi and Naruto, maybe even like Sasuke…_ Hinata reflected on how she acted around Naruto and Sasuke. She felt more confident when she was around them, and more comfortable too. Suddenly Hinata remembered all the times she had gotten angry and upset with Sasuke. Though she usually cried when people hurt her feelings, when she was around Sasuke she found herself getting genuinely angry and acting differently than she normally did. _I wonder what makes me so different around him._

Being the 'Hinata-mood-sensor' that she was, Hanabi's senses brought her to look up at her sister, who was looking out of the window. Hanabi wiped the traces of soup off of her face with her sleeve, "Are you thinking about your friends?"

"Huh?!" Hinata jumped a little as her attention snapped back to Hanabi, who somehow ALWAYS knew what she was thinking. She was beginning to wonder if the Byakugan gave some users mind reading abilities.

"Come to think of it, you haven't really told me much about your teammates besides their names. I want to know who's hanging out with my sister. Out with it, I want details. Their personalities, what they look like, where they live, everything!" The little girl demanded.

"Well…you'll be able to meet them later." Hinata's eye twitched a bit. Her sister was so overprotective.

"True, but I want to know what you think of them. Especially since you seem to like one of them."

Spit take with a bowl of soup: Hinata Hyuga! _IS THAT SOMETHING A 7-YEAR-OLD IS SUPPOSED TO SAY?! _Hinata couldn't even begin to respond to something like that.

_It looks like I was right, although…I was just kidding. _Hanabi blinked as she further observed her sister's nervous reactions. Hinata was starting to turn a little pink in the cheeks. "Geez Hanabi…my heart can't handle all of these random questions and statements."

"It's your fault." Hanabi folded her arms on top of the table, using them as cushions to lay her chin on as she sat more comfortably in her chair. "I wouldn't have so much to say if you talked with me more. You spend so much time training on your own now and when you get home you usually just go straight to sleep." She pouted. "I miss talking to you."

Hinata began to feel a little guilty. "Hanabi…"

"I know it's a little selfish, but I really get lonely around here. Although I love training with father, he isn't exactly a fun person to talk to. And everyone else in this house has no personality at all. When I'm stuck in my room with nothing to do, I start to feel like I'm rotting away in this house. I know you're going to be busy and I'm being a little selfish but…" Hanabi's voice began to trail off in that last sentence.

Hinata reached out her arms, across the table, holding Hanabi's petite hands in hers. "You don't have to feel sorry." Hinata gave her sister a reassuring smile. "It's difficult being born into this clan, especially being born into the main branch. Everyone always has such high expectations for you and you're constantly being put under pressure…it's difficult to deal with while you're by yourself. But always remember that you're never alone, Hanabi. It's true that because I am a ninja now, I'll be gone a lot more often, due to missions and I'll also have to train a lot more to keep up with my teammates. But even still, I want you to know that I love you and I will always make time to spend with you, no matter how busy I get. I promise."

Hanabi raised her head, returning her sister's smile with one of her own. "I love you too sis."

"Well then, shall we start get ready to leave?" Hinata suggested. "I'll let you pick out a kimono for me."

Hanabi's eyes lit up as she nodded excitedly. One of Hanabi's favorite hobbies was dressing up her older sister.

**At Naruto's house; 12pm-Noon.**

"Stinkin' Sasuke. Couldn't even spare a few bucks for the guy who saved your life!" Naruto grumbled to himself as he finished tying the black belt on his all-orange kimono.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Come in!" Naruto shouted with his back to the door, not even bothering to see who it was.

"Well don't you look nice." An older male's voice spoke in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

Naruto turned around to see none other than Kakashi, dressed in a plain, dark green kimono with his black ninja suit underneath, and his face almost completely covered(as always). And right behind him was Sasuke, dressed in a dark blue kimono with the Uchiha clan's symbol on his back.

"YOU!" Naruto pointed accusingly at Sasuke. "You stiffed me for cash earlier! Jerk!"

Sasuke simply "Hmph"–ed in response.

Kakashi clapped his hands together to get their attention. "Alright, you two, we won't have any fighting today. It's a special holiday, and we should all enjoy it. You know, have fun, bond as a team, etcetera. After we pick up Hinata, we're going to head over to the festival area together." The masked man explained.

"Fine." Naruto rolled his eyes. "So…where does Hinata live?"

Silence.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE LIVES?!" Sasuke and Naruto exclaimed.

**Skip the 4-hour journey to the Hyuga House-4:00pm.**

After four hours of wandering all around Konoha, the three males of squad seven finally found themselves standing before the mighty doors to the Hyuga estate.

Kakashi stepped forward to knock on the large wooden doors three times, while Naruto and Sasuke stayed behind, marveling at the sheer size of the estate.

"Whoa! This place is HUGE! Does Hinata really live here!? Her family must be rich!"

"Well…" Kakashi began to explain. "The Hyuga clan is one of the most prestigious and powerful clans of the hidden leaf village. Their members are quite powerful but they're mostly known for their powerful kekkei genkai, their dojutsu: The Byakugan."

"Byakugan?" Sasuke repeated.

"You may have heard something about it before Sasuke." Kakashi turned to face the black haired genin. "After all, your clan's dojutsu, the Sharingan was said to have been derived from the Byakugan."

Before any more questions could be asked, the giant doors to the Hyuga clan opened calling all the male's attention towards the two petite figures stepping out to greet them. Hinata was wearing a red silk kimono with white rose patterns and a white rose tucked on the right side of her head. Hanabi on the other hand, wore a purple kimono with lavender iris patterns and her hair tied back in a low ponytail.

"You all are…quite late." Hinata spoke softly.

"Ehehe…Sorry about that..." Kakashi said scratching the back of his head. "We got a little lost on the way here."

"Appearently it didn't occur to a certain someone to ask where you lived ahead of time…" Sasuke grumbled.

"Oh well, what's past is past. We still have a good 8 hours before the festival ends." Kakashi defended himself before he decided to inquire about the smaller girl standing next to Hinata. "And who's this?"

"My name is Hanabi. Hanabi Hyuga." She introduced, bowing her head slightly.

"This is my little sister. She'll be accompanying us tonight."

"I didn't know you had a little sister Hinata." Naruto said as he looked down at the younger Hyuga girl. "Hey there, my name is Naruto Uzumaki! Nice to meet you, Hanabi." Naruto introduced as he reached his hand out for the little girl to shake.

Hanabi simply stared at his hand, tilting her head slightly.

_Great…another shy one…_Naruto thought as he lowered his hand.

"I already know your name…" Hanabi finally replied. "Sis told me all about you three the other day."

Hanabi looked over to Sasuke. "You're Sasuke Uchiha. The last survivor of the Uchiha Clan who gets chased around by fan girls all the time." She then shifted her eyes to look at the Jonin. "And you are Kakashi Hatake. The jonin and leader of Team 7. You're the guy that's always at least, 4 hours late for everything."

"Well…I didn't realize we were so popular for us to come up at family conversations. You must really like us already." Kakashi closed his eyes, no doubt he was smiling underneath that mask of his. Hinata blushed red in embarrassment.

"Hey, what'd Hinata tell you about me?" Naruto asked the little Hyuga curiously. But before Hanabi could say anything, Hinata quickly put her hand over Hanabi's mouth. "Uh…I think we should get going!" She said as fast as she could.

**In the main streets of Konoha…4:35pm**

Team 7 strolls down the decorated streets of the leaf village, observing the many festival events and games all around. Hanabi holds her sister's hand, walking close by her side while she observed the many booths.

"There's so many fun-looking places." Hanabi spoke softly.

"Where should we head to first?" Naruto asked as he casually walked with his hands folded behind his head.

"SASUKE!" a female voice shouted. The Uchiha boy cringed as two pale arms wrapped around his body and over 90 pounds bared down on his back. It only took a few seconds for Sasuke to figure out who it was. "Ino…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Oh, Sasuke! Look at you! You look absolutely amazing in that kimono! I love that color on you! Then again, you'd look good in ANY color." Ino began her fawning over her irritated crush, while dressed in her most beautiful lavender kimono with purple iris petal designs all over it. And just for Sasuke, Ino made sure to wear her hair out, so that it flowed in the wind.

"Could you get off me?" Sasuke's asked, speaking through gritted teeth. Though his simple request fell on deaf ears, as Ino seemed to be in her own little fantasy world.

"Well someone's popular." Kakashi couldn't resist commenting. "We haven't been here for more than 2 minutes and you're already getting jumped by fan girls."

"Ino, you promised me that you'd behave, today." An older man's voice spoke.

"I know that voice…Asuma Sarutobi?" Kakashi said as he turned to see a familiar-looking man with black hair, black eyes, a beard, and tan skin walking towards them wearing an olive green kimono with a cigarette sticking out the side of his mouth.

"Kakashi?" Asuma smiled. "Long time no see, man."

"It's definitely been a while." Kakashi and Asuma greeted each other with a simply hand shake while Naruto looked to see Shikamaru and Shino walking towards them as well. Shikamaru was wearing a plain dark green kimono while Shino was wearing a grey kimono with a black haori jacket.

"Hey. Shikamaru! Shino! What's up!" Naruto called out to them.

"You don't need to shout man, we're right here." Shikamaru spoke in his usual, monotone voice.

"I see Ino has found Sasuke." Shino remarked as he watched Sasuke struggle to get Ino off his back-literally.

"Poor Sasuke…" Hinata pitied. "I'm not sure how he handles all those girls attacking him all the time." Hinata shivered as she remembered how she had been attacked by Sasuke's fangirls just the other day.

Naruto pouted. "I don't see what's so special about Sasuke! Seriously!"

"INO-PIG!" a familiar voice rang through everyone's ears.

"Oh here comes even more trouble…" Shikamaru sighed.

Hinata pulled Hanabi closer to her. "What's wrong?" Hanabi could feel her sister's hands tense.

"Don't worry about it. Just…stay close to me." Hinata ordered.

Everyone's head turned to see team 8 arrive, with Sakura leading the way. Sakura stomped over, dressed in a hot pink kimono with lighter pink cherry blossom designs and her hair tied back in a high ponytail. Kiba followed closely behind wearing a short, no-sleeve, grey kimono and black, baggy pants underneath. Choji was wearing a light green kimono and he was standing next to an older woman with black hair and red eyes wearing a blood-red kimono with black rose thorn designs decorating it.

"Ino! You ugly pig!" Sakura shouted, marching up to the blonde girl who was still latched onto the Uchiha's back. "Get your filthy hands off of my Sasuke!"

"Back off bill-board brow! I found Sasuke first! He's mine!" Ino retorted.

"Sasuke's going to spend the day with ME!" Sakura announced.

"Not gonna happen." Ino smirked as she tightened her grip around Sasuke, causing Sakura's blood to boil even more.

"Grr…GET AWAY FROM SASUKE RIGHT NOW!" She shouted.

"Make me!" Ino teased, sticking her tongue out.

"Looks like those two are at it again." Shikamaru stated before turning his head towards the Inuzuka boy. "Kiba, can't you control your teammate?"

"Pfft. Can't you control yours?" He retorted.

"Alright, girls. That's enough." A motherly voice ordered. The woman in the blood red kimono stepped in between Sakura and Ino.

"Kurenai-Sensei." Sakura said.

"This is supposed to be a good day, a day where we have fun with friends and family alike. No fighting of any kind allowed ladies." Kurenai looked down at Ino, giving her a motherly stare until the blonde girl moaned, grudgingly releasing Sasuke from her grip. "Thank you." Kurenai smiled as she patted the top of Ino's head, lightly.

"Whoa! Did I seriously see that?!" Naruto gawked at this rare sight.

"Someone actually managed to calm down two Sasuke fan girls? That's unreal!" Shikamaru marveled.

"That's Kurenai-Sensei for you." Kiba bragged.

"Amazing…" Hinata added.

"Hey Kurenai, you made it!" Asuma called out.

Kurenai smiled as soon as she turned around and saw the familiar faces. "Asuma Sarutobi…Kakashi Hatake…long time no see."

As Kurenai walked over to the other two jonin, the three began their own conversation.

"Do those three know each other?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

"I think the three of them used to be on the same team when they were genin." Shino speculated.

"Speaking of which. It looks like all 9 of us managed to become real genin." Kiba stated. "Was anyone else surprised when they told you guys that 18 graduates would be sent back to the academy?"

"I was terrified…" Hinata answered.

"That was so stupid…" Shikamaru grumbled. "…I'd be pissed if I did all that work just to be sent back to the academy."

"I couldn't let Sasuke go on to become a ninja without me now could I?" Sakura added.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he stood between Hinata and Shikamaru.

"I didn't doubt Hinata and Sasuke would make it, I'm just surprised that Naruto didn't drag you guys down." Kiba remarked.

"Me too." Sasuke agreed, with a slight smirk appearing on his face.

"HEY! I'm right here you know!" Naruto yelled.

"Hello, who's this?" Kiba looked down at Hanabi, completely ignoring Naruto.

"This is my little sister, Hanabi." Hinata introduced. Hanabi stepped behind Hinata slightly, not sure of how to respond to the new face in front of her.

"Looks like she's a little shy too." Kiba laughed a bit.

"N-No…she really isn't, not normally…Hanabi are you feeling alright?" Hinata directed her attention to her suddenly shy sister who simply responded by nodding her head. _She must not be too comfortable around all these new faces. She's only really interacted with people in our family up until now…_Hinata theorized.

"Well I know how to cure a shy little kid." Kiba said before whistling.

Hanabi felt something lightly rub against the hem of her kimono. She looked down to see an adorable white furred dog. Hanabi's eyes gleamed at the foreign yet adorable being in front of her.

"Akamaru meet Hanabi." Kiba picked up the dog with both hands, holding him out for Hanabi to grab. Though she hesitated at first, Hanabi eventually let go of Hinata's hand to reach for Akamaru with both arms. Once Kiba lowered the adorable puppy into her hands, she cradled the dog close to her heart like a baby. Akamaru then licked Hanabi's face, causing the 7-year-old to giggle. Hanabi always wanted a pet, but animals weren't allowed in the Hyuga estate. Well, birds were, but nothing else. Hanabi hadn't really had much experience interacting with dogs before, but she was loving it so far. Seeing her sister enjoy herself, Hinata couldn't help but smile.

Having won over the little sister, Kiba turned his attention towards the elder Hyuga. "So Hinata…" Kiba paused to make sure he had gained Hinata's attention. "You wanna go hit some game booths?"

"Oh…I…" Hinata trailed off as she looked back at Naruto who was sliding over towards a certain pink haired girl.

"Sa-ku-ra!" Naruto sang. "Do you wanna go on a date with me?"

"Not on your life!" Sakura punched Naruto out, causing him to fall face first into the ground in front of her.

Hinata sighed. _Oh Naruto…_

_I see…_Hanabi noticed her sister's eyes sadden slightly. "Mister Kiba?" Hanabi spoke sweetly as she raised her head towards the Inuzuka boy who responded by looking down at her. "Are you good at throwing rings?" Hanabi asked, pointing to the ring-toss booth at the end of the street behind Kiba. Kiba turns around, having to squint to see the booth in the distance, before smirking. "Sure kid." He said confidently. "Tossing rings is easy. I take it you'd like a prize?" Kiba asked bending down to be at eye-level with Hanabi, who nodded in response. "I don't mind. Though I don't think I'm allowed to take you anywhere without your sister's approval. Right?" He raised his head to look at Hinata. Hanabi elbowed her sister's side gently, causing Hinata to jump a little as her attention returned to Kiba.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't quite c-catch that last part…" Hinata stuttered nervously.

"Your sister said she wants to head over to the ring booth. Is that alright with you?" Kiba asks as he stands back up straight.

Hinata blinks. "Not that I consider you a stranger but I can't just leave Hanabi alone with someone else, my father would…"

"Then I guess you'll just have to come with us then!" Kiba eagerly grabs Hinata's arm, pulling her along as he starts walking towards the ring-toss booth with Hanabi trailing behind them, wearing a devious smile.

Sasuke watches as his blue-haired teammate is dragged away by the dog-boy genin. "Hn…"

"Looks like someone's kidnapped your teammate." Shikamaru remarked.

"It would have been better if he had kidnapped his own." Sasuke replied, tilting his head towards the pink haired girl standing over a semi-conscious Naruto.

"True." The lazy ninja nodded in agreement.

"Sasuke…" Too loving female voices chanted together.

Sasuke's eye twitched as he turned his head towards two of his most memorable fan girls. "What?" He gritted through his teeth.

"Would you go on a date with me?" Ino stepped in front of Sakura.

"Or with me?" Sakura pushed Ino to the side.

"No, and No." Sasuke said bluntly. "I'm going to get something to eat. ALONE." Were the Uchiha's last words before he simply walked off on his own, leaving the group in search of a decent food booth, while Sakura and Ino lowered their heads in disappointment.

"I don't see why you girls keep trying to ask that guy out," Choji says as he walks over to the group with a big bag of chips in hand. "He always says 'no'. I really don't think he likes either of you."

POW!

Poor Choji had been knocked out. Ko'ed by the mighty fists of two delusional fan girls, who were too proud to accept the possible reality of one innocent boy's words.

"You should really do something about that teammate of yours!" Ino puffed.

"I don't even see how the two of us got on the same team." Sakura huffed.

"Poor Choji…" Shikamaru lamented the poor fool laid out on the ground, who was stupid enough to actually try and talk any form of sense into two of Sasuke's most vicious fangirls.

"SHIKAMARU! SHINO!" Ino demanded their attention. "Since Sasuke's unavailable at the moment…I'm counting on you two to make sure that this trip isn't a total waste!"

"What are you talking about?" The shadow master inquired.

"It's common knowledge that when a gentleman, or gentlemen in this case, take a lady out to a festival that they treat her to lavish gifts and prizes." Ino explained. "Sasuke's unable to do it at the moment, so it's your job to take his place!"

"So what you're basically saying is that…" Shino began to speak before Shikamaru decided to finish his sentence.

"…you want us to go out of our way to win you stuff, while we get nothing ourselves?"

"So glad you understand." Ino smiles as she reaches for both of their arms. "Let's go then! Time's-a-wastin!" Ino began pulling her teammates towards the game booths.

"What a drag…" Shikamaru sighed.

_Hey! I'm all alone! _Sakura realized as she looked around to find that everyone had left except the knocked out Choji and Naruto who were still lying unconscious on the ground. _What am I going to do now?!_

"Oh…my head…" Naruto groaned as he began to sit up, rubbing the back of his head.

_Oh great…_Sakura turned to glare down at the blonde boy still sitting on the ground.

"Ah! Sakura!" Naruto said as he stood back onto his feet. "Where did everyone go?"

_Ew…how'd I end up getting stuck with this guy?_ Sakura cursed to herself.

**With Kiba, Hinata, and Hanabi-5:15pm**

Kiba manages to ring all three bottles in front of him with ease.

"Looks like we have a winner." The booth woman spoke.

"Wow Kiba, that's amazing!" Hinata clapped.

The booth lady reached for one of the giant stuffed bunnies sitting on the top of the shelf behind her, handing the bunny to Kiba.

"One bunny for the cute young couple." The woman remarked.

"C-Couple? Oh-no…we're just friends." Hinata corrected, blushing slightly. Akamaru whined.

Kiba put on a smile as he handed the large bunny to the elder Hyuga sister. "Here you go Hinata. I told you that I could ring all these bottles in one go." Kiba bragged.

"Oh my…this thing is huge." Hinata remarked as the giant rabbit was just barely shorter than Hanabi herself, her face was completely covered by the colossal bunny.

"Sorry…maybe you'd like a different prize?" Kiba offered.

"N-No…thank you Kiba." Hinata smiled as she poked her head from behind the bunny.

"Y-You're welcome." Kiba's cheeks blushed red at the Hyuga girl's smile.

Clink! Clink! Clink!

"Winner!" The booth woman shouted, gaining Kiba and Hinata's attention. Hanabi had just successfully ringed all three bottles as well, while still cradling Akamaru in one arm.

"Did you see that sis? I won!" Hanabi celebrated as she pointed towards the bottles. "I won the game!"

"That's pretty good, kid." Kiba complemented.

"I wouldn't expect any less from you." Hinata cheered her sister on.

The booth woman handed Hanabi another giant bunny that was roughly her size. The weight of the rabbit was a little too much. Hanabi lost her balance and fell backwards on her butt as she tried to keep the bunny in one hand without dropping Akamaru.

"Ha-Hanabi are you alright?" Hinata walked over to help her sister up, having left her bunny in Kiba's hands to hold.

"I'm alright." Hanabi assured her, flashing a large grin. "It's just, these bunnies are so big!"

Hinata giggled a bit at the sight of her adorable little sister, struggling to hold on to such a large bunny. Fearing that he might be dropped next time, Akamaru decided to switch his position. The little white puppy wiggled out of Hanabi's arms and climbed to the top of her head, where he decided was the safest place to rest. "Hey! It moved!" Hanabi was surprised at how agile and quick the small dog was.

"Akamaru, what are you doing? Get down." Kiba was worried that Akamaru might be scaring the younger Hyuga girl.

"It's alright, Kiba. He was probably just worried that he'd fall. Maybe these bunnies are a bit too big." Hinata defended as she looked over to the booth lady. "Could we get smaller bunnies please?" She requested.

The booth lady nodded as she took back both of the giant bunnies from Kiba and Hinata, giving them back, two normal sized stuffed bunnies. One was lavender, the other was white. Hanabi took the lavender bunny, raising it to her head for Akamaru to sniff, while Hinata took the white one.

"Much better." Hanabi sighed in relief as she examined her prize.

"Well now…where would you two like to go next?" Kiba asked.

"I'm not sure…Hanabi, is there any more fun places you'd like to visit?" Hinata inquired.

Hanabi shook her head. "I'll go wherever you guys want to go. I don't want to be a bother."

"NARUTO! I ALREADY SAID 'NO'!" A familiar voice shouted. Hinata, Kiba and Hanabi all turned to see Sakura stomping towards them with Naruto trailing behind her like a lost puppy.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto begged. "Just let me buy you a snack or something."

Sakura froze in place, turning around to face Naruto. "Let me make myself perfectly clear." She put on the straightest face she could. "I…do…NOT…like…YOU! I am in love with Sasuke! He's the only guy that I'll ever love! And we WILL be together! Nothing is ever going to change that, so I suggest you give up on me and find someone else!" Sakura turned her back to Naruto, sticking her head up as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Aw…Geez…" Kiba face-palmed as he noticed Hinata beginning to fixate on Naruto.

Hearing Kiba's voice, Sakura's face lit up as she grabbed Naruto roughly by his upper arm, dragging him along while she walked towards Kiba and Hinata. "I've been looking for you two." Sakura said as she forced Naruto forward. "Hinata, take care of this thing while I talk to Kiba." The pink haired girl pushed Naruto into the Hyuga girl, causing them to bump into each other.

"N-Naruto…" Hinata blushed.

"Hey Hinata…" Naruto grumbled, upset at having been tossed away like a piece of trash.

"Hey!" Kiba snarled. "If you hadn't noticed, the two…er…three of us" he corrected, suddenly remembering Hanabi, "were in the middle of something here!"

"In the middle of what? Playing a game? It looks like you two already won something." Sakura said, breaking the romantic mood that Kiba was trying to create. "Anyway…" Sakura brushed off the dog-boy's glare. "I need your help with something."

"What?" Kiba looked at her in disbelief. She had the nerve to interrupt his date and ask for a favor.

"You have a good sense of smell right? I need you to help me find Sasuke." It sounded more like an order than a request.

Kiba folded his arms across his chest. "And what makes you think that I'd be willing to help YOU out?"

"Well aren't I your teammate?!" Sakura retorted. "You're supposed to help me out when I need you!"

"Oh so NOW you wanna play the teammate card?" Kiba sneered. "After you just spent the last two days complaining about how it was some horrible mistake that you got stuck on a squad with dog boy and fatso and not your precious Sasuke?"

"It was a mistake." Sakura placed her hands on her hips. "But I've decided to make the best of this mistake. And use my team to the best of your abilities."

Kiba's eye twitched. "Y-You're a real piece of work, you know that?!"

While team 8's most temperamental members began arguing with each other, Hinata began inching closer to Naruto.

"S-So…N-Naruto…how are you?" Hinata blushed as she began twiddling her fingers.

"Not so good…I can't seem to convince Sakura to go on a date with me." Naruto sighed. "She's so obsessed with Sasuke."

"T-that's too bad." Hinata paused for a moment. "Well…i-if you d-don't have anyone to…t-to spend time with…I…I…I'd be happy to…hang out w-with you." Hinata spoke in a voice so soft that Naruto just barely heard it.

"Nah" He rejected. "I wouldn't want to pull you away from Kiba. Besides…I'm on mission!" Naruto regained his usually fiery spirit with those last few words.

"A mission?" Hinata wondered.

"Yes! Before this festival ends, I'm going to convince Sakura to go on a date with me!" Naruto determined.

"You…really like Sakura…don't you?" Hinata frowned.

"Yeah, I do!" Naruto answered readily. "After all…Sakura's so beautiful, and smart, and lively…she's just awesome! What guy wouldn't want a girl like that?"

"Oh…" Hinata looked at Naruto's face light up as he began talking about Sakura. Hinata sighed, her head lowered, allowing her bangs to hide her eyes that were beginning to fill with tears.

"Hinata…" Hanabi reached for her sister's arm only to be brushed to the side as Hinata turned her back to Naruto and Hanabi.

"Hinata?" Naruto blinked, confused at her sudden movement.

Without turning around Hinata replied softly. "I have to go to the bathroom. Naruto, would you mind watching Hanabi while I'm gone?" she requested.

"Uh…sure…" Naruto answered as he watched Hinata run off rather fast. _She must really have to go._ Naruto thought to himself.

"Hya!" Hanabi shouted while shoving two index fingers into a chakra point in Naruto's side, causing the poor genin to double over.

"W-What…what was that for you brat?!" Naruto gritted through his teeth, holding his side in pain.

"Sorry…my hand slipped…" Hanabi answered monotonously as her gaze shifted towards the dark area where her dear sister had disappeared. _Hinata…_Hanabi's eyes saddened, her grip tightening around her stuffed bunny.

**The sun was beginning to set** as Hinata Hyuga walked down the empty streets of Konoha, a few blocks away from the festival. She had ran away a good distance. She felt horrible. Although she always knew that Naruto had liked Sakura…she still kept her hopes up for whatever reason. A few tears streamed down from her eyes to the dirt ground.

_Why am I crying? It's not like I confessed to him and he rejected me or anything…_Hinata tried to stop her tears from flowing as she began to wipe her cheeks with her kimono sleeve. _He just said that he really likes Sakura…that's all. Still…it hurts to know that he's always thinking about her, even though she's also told him that she's in love with someone else._ Then again…isn't she doing the same thing as Naruto? Chasing someone who she knows loves another? _What if Sasuke doesn't return Sakura's feelings? What if Sakura gives up on Sasuke and turns to Naruto? Where would that leave me?_ Love was such a jumbled mess of 'what-ifs'. She sighed, sitting down on a nearby bench. _I've made such a mess of everything…Hanabi's probably worried sick about me. Not to mention I left her alone with people she barely knows. That was terrible! Why do I always cause so much trouble for the people I care about most? _More tears began to make their way down Hinata's face.

"Hinata?"

Hinata's head snapped up to see a familiar raven-haired boy in a dark blue kimono.

"Sasuke…" Hinata's eyes widened before she quickly looked back down, hiding her face in her hands._ Great, as if this moment couldn't have gotten any more embarrassing._

Sasuke blinked, taken aback slightly at the interesting display he had just witnessed. However, he was determined to keep his cool, remaining completely and perfectly composed on the outside, despite his inner unease at this situation.

"So…" Sasuke spoke as he sat down on the bench next to Hinata, resting his elbows on his knees and folding his hands. "I could ask what's wrong then sit here and half-listen to a story that's probably going to just bum both of us out even more. Or you could save us some trouble and just stop crying."

Hinata sighed as she dropped her hands from her face, revealing her puffy red eyes and her flushed red cheeks with the trail of a few fresh tears running down her face.

"Boy. You look terrible." Sasuke stated bluntly.

"What are you doing out here, Sasuke?" Hinata inquired as she wiped her tears on her kimono sleeve again, this time, determined to dry her eyes completely.

"Hiding from fan girls." He replied.

"Oh." Hinata sighed. "You know you're lucky…" Hinata whispered, her eyes fixated on the ground.

"Lucky?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You're lucky to have so many people that love and admire you. Even if they do go overboard in expressing it."

Sasuke wasn't entirely sure how to interpret that answer. _Something must have happened with Naruto._ Pretty much everyone knew how Hinata felt about that goof-ball except the idiot himself. It was also equally obvious that Naruto had feelings for Sakura, who was in love with him. Then there's Kiba and well…good grief…there was such a messy love pentagon going on with the members of team 7 and 8. It was only a matter of time before someone got their feelings hurt. "Are you saying…that you don't think that anyone loves or admires you?" Sasuke stated rather than asked.

Hinata was quiet for a moment there, as if debating if she should respond before finally deciding to reply. "My sister loves me…that's all."

Sasuke closed his eyes as he asked his next question. "So you're saying you need the love of a lot of people to feel good about yourself?"

"No!" Hinata responded quickly. "I just…" Hinata's voice trailed back off.

"Or you're just looking for the admiration of certain people…" Sasuke concluded.

Hinata nodded.

"Romance must be complicated. Glad I don't deal with it." The Uchiha spoke nonchalantly.

"W-What?" Hinata jumped a little at his words as a blush crept onto her face. "Wh-Who said...a-anything a-about r-ro-romance?"

"No need to act surprised. I don't think there's a single person aside from the idiot himself that doesn't know you like Naruto. You're almost as obvious as that loser is with Sakura." Sasuke stated bluntly, seemingly not caring about the painful realization he was forcing on his teammate by reminding her of Naruto's feelings for Sakura.

Hinata sighed in defeat as she lowered her head. "You must think I'm pathetic. Hoping to get someone's attention...even knowing that they like someone else."

The Uchiha remained silent for a moment before giving a vague response. "No and Yes."

Hinata looked over towards Sasuke with a single eyebrow raised, asking him to explain his answer.

"Sakura doesn't like Naruto, so it's not like you're going after someone who's already taken. So I don't find it pathetic that you're chasing after him, especially since you aren't as desperate as those stupid fan girls of mine. Though I do find it pathetic that you're sitting here crying over a love you didn't even lose. Life is full of decisions and risks that come with each decision you make. You made the decision to pursue the love of someone who's into another girl, a choice that apparently lead to you getting your feelings hurt. But that's the risk you ran when you made your choice. It may hurt, but you're going to have to accept the consequences of your decisions, good or bad. And accept it with grace. Crying over it won't help your situation or make you feel any better. If something went wrong, then you need to do everything you can to fix it. Getting over-emotional never helped anyone."

"Sasuke…" was all the Hyuga girl could say as she allowed Sasuke's words to sink in. _Sasuke's right. Maybe I am too emotional for my own good. I told myself that I wanted to change, but I'm still the same little girl from before. Always running away and crying when things go wrong. I told myself that I was not going to be a failure anymore. If I'm going to be successful as a ninja and as a more confident person, I have to learn to deal with these sorts of things, no matter how much it hurts. Still..._Hinata glanced over at Sasuke._ I'm surprised that he of all people would be the one to comfort me in a time like this._ Hinata couldn't help but smile at her teammate. Even though he tries so hard to seem like a jerk, he really does care. A light pink blush appeared on Hinata's cheeks.

Sasuke noticed her looking at him. "What's with that face?"

"You know...you're a much nicer person than you want people to believe. I might be starting to understand why so many girls like you." Hinata spoke with the utmost sincerity.

Sasuke stared at Hinata, dumbfounded for a moment. A light blush graced his cheeks before he quickly turned his head away from her. "Don't be stupid! I just don't want some emotional train-wreck on my team! That's all!"

Hinata giggled at his reaction. "If you say so…"

"I'm serious." He tried to say in a stern tone, which only made Hinata giggle even more.

"Well, either way…Thank you. You made me feel a lot better." Hinata said as she stood up. "You know, if you had shown this side of you from the beginning, I would have liked you a little more."

"Hmph." Sasuke mumbled, as he was trying to erase the pink blush from off his face.

Hinata was preparing to head back to the festival when she turned around, instead deciding to stand in front of Sasuke, who was still seated at the bench intending to stay there.

"What now?" He asked.

"Today is supposed to be a fun day to spend with loved ones. It's not a day anyone should be spending alone." Hinata said, extending her hand for him to take."Even the great Sasuke Uchiha should let himself have a little fun with his friends."

Sasuke smirked as he took her hand.

**Back to the ring booth with Kiba, Sakura, Naruto and Hanabi, 6:15pm**

Kiba and Sakura were still at each other's throats, both of them completely oblivious to the world around them.

"Sheesh…" Naruto sighed. "They haven't stopped for air yet. It's like they're a married a couple or something." Naruto was now slouching on a nearby wooden bench next to the ring booth, sitting beside Hanabi, who was clutching her bunny in her arms with Akamaru resting on her head.

"Hinata has been gone for a long time." Hanabi began to worry, it had been a full 30 minutes since Hinata said she was 'leaving for the bathroom'. _I should have followed her._ Hanabi kicked herself for not trying to run after her sister.

"Maybe she got lost…" The blonde ninja casually stated.

Hanabi's eye twitched slightly at Naruto's idiotic comment. _And THIS is the guy that my sister loves. _Hanabi shook her head. _I shouldn't be sitting here, doing nothing…not when sis is probably crying her eyes out right now. I have to find her._ The little girl determined, as she lifted herself from off the chair and began walking past Naruto, away from the ring booth.

"Hey, where are you going?" Naruto asked.

"I'm going to find my sister on my own." Hanabi answered as she continued to walk away.

"You can't just run off!" Naruto shouted after her. Hanabi continued walking away, with Akamaru still sleeping on her head. "Little brat…" The orange-clad ninja grumbled. _This brat's really getting on my nerves._ Naruto jumped from his position on the chair, landing in front of Hanabi, who got an unsightly eyeful of Naruto's green boxers as he landed.

"Look here!" Naruto said pointing his finger at Hanabi. "Hinata left me to look after you! Since I'm the older one here, YOU have to listen to ME!"

"Why? You're not that much older. You aren't the boss of me." Hanabi said in a matter-of-factly kind of tone.

Naruto's eye twitched. "Why you-!" He reached out to grab Hanabi's arm, who easily dodges his hand, spinning once, activating her Byakugan as she prepared to palm his stomach.

_Fast!_ Was all Naruto had time to think of as Hanabi lunged for him. Hanabi's palm connected with Naruto's stomach with such force that it caused the hyperactive ninja to double over in pain once again. Seeing Naruto on his knees, Hanabi immediately ran off.

_Stinkin…brat…packs a punch…_ Naruto grumbled as he forced himself to stand to his feet. _Well…I won't be so easily by a brat! I don't care if she's Hinata's sister or not! She's gonna have to be taught a few manners!_ Naruto immediately took off after the little girl, who had surprisingly created a large amount of distance between the two of them. Naruto could barely see her in the distance, and with her small size, he was beginning to lose her in the crowd.

**With Ino-Shika-Shi. 6:24pm**

"Come on Shikamaru! You can do better than that!" Ino cheered as Shikamaru was preparing to strike. He had three kunai in his hands. The object of the game was to pop as many balloons as you can. Of course, being a ninja, this game was easy to Shikamaru. But that didn't mean he wanted to play it.

"Ino, do you really need any more prizes?" The lazy boy asked, looking back at his blonde teammate who already had a wagon full of stuffed animals and other cheap prizes.

"That wagon does look full." Shino commented.

"Oh come on, just one more prize and then we'll head over to the food stands!" Ino assured them.

_Isn't that what she said last game?_ Shikamaru dared not to speak out loud, for fear of the fan girl's wrath. Just as the lazy ninja was preparing to throw the kunai, he noticed something in the corner of his eye. "Is that Hinata's kid sister?"

The two genin turned their heads in the same direction as Shikamaru, in time to see the tiny terror running towards them at an impressive speed.

"Yeah it is. But where's Hinata?" Ino wondered.

"YOU BRAT!" A familiar voice bellowed.

Not too far behind Hanabi was the village's #1 hyperactive ninja.

"Naruto…" the entire team 10 mumbled.

_This guy REALLY doesn't know when to give up!_ Hanabi could sense him getting closer. But she would not let herself be caught so easily. Increasing her speed, Hanabi whips by team 10.

"Wonder what's gotten into her…" Ino says as Hanabi runs by.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouts as a clone appears running in front of him. Using his clone as a trampoline, Naruto jumps off the clone's back, launching himself forward, landing onto Ino's wagon, which he then uses as a skate board to increase his speed, closing the distance between him and Hanabi.

"My prizes!" Ino yells in horror.

"Oh I am NOT wasting any more time on prize winning." Shikamaru grumbles as he quickly performs several hand signs. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

_I'm catching up to her! THAT BRAT IS MINE!_ Naruto eagerly reaches forward to grab Hanabi, when suddenly the wagon stops rolling, causing Naruto to fall off the wagon, landing face first on the ground. Naruto looks up in time to see Hanabi disappear within in the crowd. "What…what happened?" Naruto looked back as he stood up, seeing a thin shadow touching the wagon and reaching back to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru! What was that for?!" Naruto shouted.

"We should be asking you that!" Ino yelled as she walked up to Naruto, taking back her wagon.

"I almost had her!"

"What did she run off?"

"Hinata had to go to the bathroom or something and she left me to watch her little sister, who just suddenly decided to run off, and I was about to catch her when you guys got in the way!" Naruto explained. "Now how am I gonna find her in this crowd?!"

"Why not just go ask Kiba?" Ino suggested.

"Kiba? What for?"

"Kiba is of the Inuzuka clan. They're a clan that's known for their strong dog-like senses, mostly their strong sense of smell." Shino explained.

Naruto blinked, not understanding what they were trying to say.

"He could track Hanabi's scent, leading you right to her." Shikamaru stated.

"Seriously?! That's awesome! I have to go find Kiba before Hinata gets back!" Naruto yelled as he began running back towards the ring booth.

"You're welcome." Shikamaru yelled after him.

**With Hinata and Sasuke…6:30pm**

With Sasuke walking with her, Hinata returned to the ring booth where she had left her sister. Though she was shocked to see only Kiba and Sakura still standing there, and still arguing.

"Uhm…Kiba?" Hinata interrupted.

Hearing a familiar, sweet voice, Kiba held up his hand to Sakura's face. "Time out." He told her. The Inuzuka then turned to face Hinata. "Yeah?"

"Where's my sister? And Naruto?" She asked simply.

"What? Did they leave?" Kiba blinked. He and Sakura were so deep into their argument that both of them were unaware of Hinata's running off and Naruto leaving with Hanabi. Kiba scanned the area to find out that they had indeed left.

"You call yourself a ninja? Did you seriously not notice anyone leave?" Sasuke spoke in his usual monotone voice.

"And when did Sasuke get here?!" Kiba exclaimed, confused.

Sakura's face lit up as her cheeks became red. "Sasuke!" She exclaimed in such a loving voice as she rushed over to him, grabbing onto his arm as she tried to cuddle up to him. "Oh, I missed you so much!" She cooed. Sasuke huffed. _Kill me now._

"When did the sun set?" Kiba kept asking himself idiotic questions.

"Kiba…" Hinata spoke again, with a noticeable hint of concern in her voice.

Kiba began scratching the back of his head as he nervously tried to inform her that he hadn't paid any attention to where his sister or where Naruto went. "Uhm…you see…"

"KIBA!" Naruto yelled.

Everyone turned to see the blonde haired boy rushing towards them, alone.

"Naruto."

Naruto froze in place when he saw that his blue haired teammate had returned.

"Where's Hanabi?" Hinata asked.

"Hanabi…she…" Naruto hesitated a bit. "…was worried about you and…well she ran off looking for you. I tried to run after her, but she was so small…and the crowd was too thick…" It was difficult for him to say it but, "I lost her." He admitted.

Hinata's face became completely pale. "Oh no…it's my fault…my sister's gone missing!" The Hyuga girl began to panic. "I never should have left her alone!"

"Hinata, I'm sorry but…" Naruto trailed off as he started to feel guilty.

Kiba ran over to Hinata, who was starting to tremble, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey, it's alright. Hanabi left with Akamaru right? If that's the case then I can easily track her scent and find her."

"Oh sure, look for the kid but don't help me look for Sasuke…" Sakura muttered under her breath, causing Kiba to glare back at her.

"Enough playing around." Sasuke cut through the tension as he shook Sakura off his arm. "We should hurry up and find her before it gets too dark. There are a lot of weirdoes that hang out at night."

"Weirdoes?"

"Why'd you have to go and say that!?" Naruto reprimanded Sasuke.

"Oh shut up, it's your fault for losing her in the first place." Sasuke reminded him, silencing the usually hyper ninja.

"Let's go!" Kiba shouted as he began running in the direction of Hanabi and Akamaru's scent with the other four genin following close behind him.

**With Hanabi and Akamaru 6:40pm**

"I finally lost him…" Hanabi said to herself. "But…where did I end up running off to?" The Hyuga girl lifted her head, as she began to scan the surrounding area. The sun had almost completely set, and she and Akamaru had wandered a good distance away from the festival grounds, onto an empty street in Konoha. Though she would never admit it, she was a bit scared, standing in the midst of a dark, empty street, far away from anyone who could possibly hear her scream. Akamaru, who had woken up, suddenly began to growl.

"What's wrong?" Hanabi asked the dog who jumped from her head onto the ground.

"Well what do we have here?" An unfamiliar male's voice echoed through the empty streets.

In a matter of seconds, two adults, a male and female appeared in front of Hanabi. Both were wearing identical, traditional black ninja suits with grey flak jackets and grey forehead protectors.

Akamaru barked as Hanabi narrowed her eyes. She could see that their head band contained the symbol of the Cloud Village. _Foreign Ninja! What are they doing in the leaf village?_ Hanabi wondered. "Who are you?!" Hanabi spoke in a stern tone. "And what are you doing in the hidden leaf village?"

The woman chuckled. "Would you look at that? The brat's demanding information."

"Isn't it obvious kid?" The man said. "We're here to enjoy the festival."

"Although it appears that we got lucky. It's not every day that we find a Hyuga brat from the main branch wandering around by her lonesome." The woman narrowed her eyes at the little girl, allowing a devious smile to creep onto her face.

"The boss would be pleased if we could bring back a Hyuga." The man whispered to his partner.

Hanabi was certain of it. These people were not just visitors. Her father had warned her about strangers, especially those of the hidden cloud village. She had heard many rumors about their ninja attempting to steal powerful techniques and jutsu, including the Byakugan. _These two look like advance ninja, Jonin? No…not quite…Chunin, definitely. Should I engage them in a fight? Could I win? Or even hold them off until someone comes?_ Hanabi began weighing her options. _I have no choice but to fight!_ Veins began to protrude from her eyes as Hanabi activated her Byakugan. The young Hyuga girl quickly jumped back into the gentle fist stance, standing ready to fight.

"You wanna fight, little girl?" The woman teased. "It looks like we'll be able to see the Byakugan in action."

"Stay back!" Hanabi warned.

"You shouldn't start fights you can't win little girl."A voice spoke from behind.

Hanabi's eyes widened in horror. _How did he get behind me so fast?!_ Hanabi had barely turned her head when she noticed the man preparing to thrust a kunai in her side. He was coming too fast, there was no way that she could move out the way in time. The little girl could only close her eyes and await the impact. But it never came.

"Oof!"

"Hey!"

Hanabi opened her eyes to see a familiar, wild boy standing in place of the foreign ninja who was now lying, face-up, on the ground, seemingly knocked out.

"Kiba!" Hanabi smiled.

"Another brat." The woman sneered as she pulled out a katana.

"What are we going to do?" Hanabi whispered.

"Don't worry. You're going to be alright. Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba assured as he popped a food pellet into his mouth and Akamaru's.

The Inuzuka lowered his stance, getting on all fours, allowing the now feral, red furred Akamaru to jump on top of his back. "Ninja art of beast mimicry! Man beast clone!" The two transformed in a puff of smoke, revealing two Kibas.

"What is this?!" The woman shouted.

"FANG OVER FANG!" Kiba shouted as he and Akamaru-Kiba charged at the woman, drilling towards her. The woman quickly formed a few hand-signs, disappearing in a puff of smoke the moment the two Kibas hit her, seemingly turning into a log of wood.

"You'll have to do better than that!" The woman shouted as she appeared behind Kiba, preparing to slice him with her blade.

"Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" Another familiar voice shouted. In an instant the woman had to jump backwards out of the way, just barely avoiding a large fireball. Taking a second to look in the direction the fireball had come from, she discovered another genin with black hair and a dark blue kimono.

"These genin keep coming out of nowhere."

"You got some nerve coming into OUR village!" A hyperactive ninja shouted.

The woman barely had time to turn around before she noticed a short, blonde ninja grabbing her from behind. "Get off me!" She yelled as she tried to shake Naruto off, but the young genin was stubbornly holding on.

"Now Hinata!" He shouted as he finally let the woman go.

In an instant, the blue haired girl slid into battle, charging her opponent at blinding speed, her byakugan activated and her palm ready to strike.

_The Byakugan!_ The woman did not have time to react or perform a substitution jutsu before Hinata's chakra filled palm blasted her in the abdomen, not only blocking her chakra but damaging some internal organs. The woman and Hinata stood there for a moment, before the woman coughed up a tiny amount of blood, and passed out, falling face first on the ground.

_I got her!_ Hinata sighed in relief as she deactivated her Byakugan.

"Geez…it only took one hit to knock her out? Some ninja!" Kiba scoffed, as Akamaru returned to his dog form.

_That wasn't just a simple hit._ Hanabi corrected as she stood to marvel at her sister and friends. _Although these guys acted like idiots before…they're really strong. And Hinata…she's definitely gotten stronger from the last time when we've sparred._

"Alright, Sasuke! That was totally awesome!" Sakura cheered from off the sidelines.

_Why is she cheering on Sasuke? He didn't even hit the woman._ Kiba mumbled.

_Sasuke. Sasuke. It's always about Sasuke!_ Naruto huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

_Why is she cheering? She did nothing! _Hanabi looked at the pink haired lady, dumbfounded.

"You brats shouldn't be getting all comfy before you've even won the fight! Ninja Art: Life Eating Vines."

In an instant, several vines sprung up from the ground, entangling each of the genin and Akamaru, but not Hanabi. The ninja who they had believed to be knocked out, was now standing up right, with a single hand-sign focusing his chakra, maintaining the jutsu. "You brats are pretty good, catching me off guard like that, you were even able to knock out my partner. But I'm not beaten so easily."

"What kind of jutsu is this?!" Sakura attempted to break herself free of the vines, but they only tightened.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. These vines aren't just ordinary plants. They're a special plant that consumes the chakra of its target." The man explained.

"LET THEM GO!" Hanabi attempted to charge the man. However, he dodged all of her gentle fists strikes with ease, while still holding the jutsu.

"As if I'd let myself be caught off guard again!" The man bawled his free hand into a fist and with bone crushing power, struck the 7-year old in the stomach. Having been dealt such a hard and brutal blow, the little girl coughed up a small amount of blood before passing out, falling into the man's free arm.

"Hanabi!" Hinata screamed in horror.

"Now that I have what I want, I have no use for the rest of you. Time to die." The man's jutsu intensified as the vines began constricting the five genin and the puppy.

"You guys just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" A laxed voice echoed through the streets.

Within the blink of an eye, all of the genin were freed from their prisons and the vines were completely sliced up. The man's eyes widened in horror as he also noticed that his hostage had been snatched out of his very arms.

"What kind of trickery is this?!" He yelled, before quickly shutting his mouth at the realization that a kunai was currently being held at his neck.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto cheered.

Kakashi had silently snuck up behind the man, holding a kunai to his neck with one hand, while holding his orange book up with the other.

"Crap..." The man mumbled.

"Where's Hanabi?" Hinata scanned the area around her before feeling another presence appear behind her. She turned around to see Kurenai sensei holding Hanabi in her arms. "Don't worry, your sister's safe." She assured her. Hinata sighed in relief.

Kurenai gently handed Hanabi to her older sister, allowing Hinata to hold her up bridal-style. Hanabi drowsily opened her eyes. "Hina…ta."

A few tears of joy and relief streamed down the elder sister's face.

"Crybaby…" Hanabi teased, despite her current situation.

A blood-curdling scream rung throughout the ears of the young genin, whose attention all snapped back to Kakashi. The ninja from the cloud village was lying on the ground dead in front of the one-eyed jonin who was standing there, reading his book without so much of a spot of blood on him.

"He's dead!" Sakura's face turned to one of disgust as she looked upon his dead body, his head was almost completely severed from his body, with a pool of blood coming out from his neck.

_This guy…is impossible. _Sasuke looked annoyed, when he inwardly marveled at his sensei's incredible abilities.

"Well that was a messy way of handling it." Kurenai mumbled as she flipped her hair back, she was a little annoyed. She was hoping to play with the Chunin a bit, since she hadn't gotten to see any real action in a while.

"Sorry it took us a minute to show up." Asuma spoke as he leaned comfortably with his back against the wall.

"YOU DID NOTHING!" The genin all shouted at once.

"I'm just here for moral support." Asuma grinned.

"Some Jonin…" Sakura grumbled.

"I'm impressed. You all faired pretty well against these two, even though these guys were both Chunin." Kakashi complemented.

"Well you know…I AM pretty awesome." Naruto bragged, earning him glares from Sasuke and Kiba.

"Shut up Naruto!" Sakura yelled, hitting Naruto on the head again.

"I can stand on my own now." Hanabi said, as she stepped down out of her sister's arms.

"Are you sure that you're alright?" Hinata asked worriedly.

Hanabi nodded. "I'm fine, crybaby, so stop bawling." Hanabi teased, wiping her sister's tears away using her own kimono sleeve. Hinata smiled a little. Her sister was always the one to act tough, even though she was the one who was nearly kidnapped. Hanabi flashed a confident smile right back at her sister.

"Well...I suppose that's all for now. We should all head back to the festival." Kurenai suggested.

The genin all nodded in agreement as they allowed Kurenai to lead them back towards the festival grounds.

Kakashi was the only one who didn't move. Rather he stood over the two foreign ninja. _What were these ninja doing here? I can tell from their head bands that they are from the hidden Cloud Village. And they're only Chunin. Were they here on their own personal quest? _The former Anbu member was silently analyzing the two bodies, deep in thought before he was shocked out of it.

"Kakashi-Sensei! Are you comin' or what?" Naruto asked as he and most of the others were beginning to walk away.

"You all go ahead, I'm going to take care of this bloody mess." Kakashi waved, giving them approval to leave. _Maybe I'm just over thinking things a bit._

**The Festival Grounds**

The 5 genin return to the festival, a little shaken up, but nonetheless determined to have fun with the rest of the night. The three jonin hit up the nearest bar together. Akamaru returned to Kiba, much to Hanabi's dismay. Instead of everyone attempting to go on a date in this love pentagon, the five decided to stay together, visiting various game booths and food stands along the way. Sasuke, Naruto and Kiba competed at each game booth, always trying to see who was the best among all three of them. They all tied in every game. Sakura stayed behind, cheering on Sasuke, much to the annoyance of the other two. Hanabi played every single game the other three played and always beat them, much to their irritation. The little Hyuga girl was having a blast. Hinata watched everyone from the sidelines. She didn't really feel like playing much anymore, though she enjoyed watching her sister have so much fun, and it really made her laugh to see the looks of devastation, irritation and annoyance on Naruto, Kiba and Sasuke's faces at losing to a child.

"She doesn't count!" Naruto huffed. "We're just competing with each other, not the kid!"

"Don't get upset because you can't beat me." Hanabi teased the 12-year old, sticking her tongue out.

"You're acting pretty high and mighty for someone who almost got herself kidnapped earlier!" Naruto was seriously arguing with a 7-year old. "Don't forget who had to come in and save you." Naruto puffed out his chest, trying to look all cool.

"It was Kakashi and Kurenai sensei who saved me. You were absolutely useless." Hanabi corrected.

A vein in Naruto's head snapped. "Why you-!"

"Cut it out Naruto." Sasuke said, grabbing a hold onto Naruto's collar as he tried to attack Hanabi.

"Seriously, she's 7." Sakura shook her head.

Hinata simply laughed at the scene in front of her.

Hours passed, and before they knew it, it was almost time for the fireworks display.

**The Hokage Mountains 11:58pm**

Everyone had gotten into position on the third Hokage's head statue. Team 7 was the closest to the edge. Hinata was sitting with her legs folded, having Hanabi leaning on her shoulder. Naruto was sitting next to Hanabi, while Sasuke was sitting on the other side of Hinata. Sakura and Ino sat close behind Sasuke, though being mindful of his 'personal-space' for once. Kiba and Akamaru sat behind Hinata, next to Sakura. Shikamaru and Shino sat next to Kiba. The three jonin decided to stand, behind Naruto. All of them awaiting the fireworks.

"Hey, Kakashi sensei, Why are the fireworks held so late at night?" Naruto asked.

"It's completely dark at midnight and easier to see the fireworks." He responded bluntly.

"Actually, it's part of a legend." Kurenai corrected.

"Legend?"

"There is an old legend about how this festival got started. It began with two lovers. One named Natsu(summer) the other named Matsuri(festival). At midnight of one starry night, in the middle of the summer, Natsu brought Matsuri up to this very mountain for a surprise. He told her to watch as he used a unique-fire style jutsu to create a beautiful display in the sky, creating fire of many colors in a show so grand that the entire village witnessed it. And at the end of this show, he wrote a message with his fire, asking Matsuri to marry him. Of course, she accepted."

"Really?"

"That's so romantic." Ino and Sakura fantasized about Sasuke proposing to them.

"Keep dreaming." He said without even bothering to turn around.

"But…" Kurenai continued, regaining everyone's attention. "The very next day, the man died while on a mission."

"So the two never got a chance to marry…" Hinata said.

"How'd such a fun festival come from a depressing story like that." Naruto asked.

"After Natsu's death, Matsuri decided that she would never marry. She would never forget her lover. She even learned his unique fire-jutsu. Once every summer, on the same night that he proposed to her, she would come to this mountain at midnight and put on a beautiful fireworks display for the village. It was her way of showing her undying love…it was also a message to the village: Enjoy your peace and happiness while it last." Kurenai finished.

"Well isn't that an eerie story?" Shino remarked.

"Sounds outright depressing if you ask me." Shikamaru followed up.

"Well…" Asuma shrugged. "…it fits your situation. You all have just officially started down the road to becoming genin. It only gets harder from here on out, so enjoy your fun filled days of peace while they last."

All the genin stared up at the three jonin, with serious and worried expressions on their face.

"Oh, stop looking so worried." Kakashi was no doubt, smiling under his mask as he attempted to brush off everything that had just been said.

"Oh look, the fireworks are starting."

Everyone's attention shifted to the sky as it lit up with many colors. Green, blue, red, yellow, white. The genin's once tense faces, all softened as they became mesmerized by the pictures made by the fireworks in the sky.

"It's so beautiful." Hanabi's eyes shined, as the lights in the sky, reflected clearly through her all-seeing white orbs.

"Did you have fun today?" Hinata asked, looking at her sister.

"Yup!" Hanabi nodded. "BEST SUMMER FESTIVAL EVER!"

"What's wrong Kakashi?" Kurenai said as she noticed that the masked jonin seemed to be deep in thought.

"Nothing it's just…I can't help but feel like we forgot something…" Kakashi said.

**With Choji still lying on the ground in the middle of the festival grounds, alone…**

After all this time, he finally wakes up, alone and confused.

"Huh? Hello? Where did everyone go?"

A/N: Sorry this one took so long. But it IS a long chapter. The next one will pick back up with the story: we'll be seeing Zabuza soon. The cloud ninja that attacked Hanabi, are important. But they won't be discussed for a while.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This chapter takes place a week after the last chapter. You can probably tell by the title, where our team 7 is going next.

Chapter 6: Journey to the Land of Waves!

**It's around noon at the Academy's Mission Assignment Desk**

"Alright, THAT'S IT!" Naruto declared. "I've had enough of these stupid missions! Babysitting! Pet sitting! Those are jobs for normal people! Not elite ninja like me!"

Naruto was pleading his case to the Third Hokage and Iruka, with the rest of his team standing behind him. Team 7 had just finished their 9th D-ranked mission and it was helping a feudal lord's wife recover her pet cat. All of their previous missions had been just as trivial, and while neither Sasuke nor Hinata were planning to say anything aloud, they both agreed with their loud mouthed friend's words.

Kakashi simply sighed as he watched his wildest student throw a tantrum._ There he goes again._

"Naruto!" Iruka scolded. "Don't get ahead of yourself! You are an untried genin, a cadet ninja with no real experience! D-ranked missions are the only missions that you all are allowed to take on."

"But I'm ready to do so much more!" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm not the same little kid that used to pull pranks all the time!"

"Really?" Sarutobi raised an eye brow.

"Naruto…" Kakashi warned. "…that's enough."

"No, it's quite alright…" The third hokage intervened. "…since Naruto wants to prove himself. I'll give you all a C-ranked mission."

"REALLY?!" Naruto perked up.

"Really?" Iruka and Kakashi blinked.

"Yes." Sarutobi picked up his most recent request scroll. "Right before you four arrived, I was given a request for an escort to the land of waves."

"An escort?! Alright!" Naruto was getting excited now. "Who are we escorting!? A princess?! A duke!?"

"Don't be so impatient." The old Hokage cautioned. "I'll bring him in now."

"Send in our visitor!"

The members of team 7 all looked back towards the door, waiting to see their newest client, each of the genin wearing a look of anticipation. The door slid open. The genin's faces all dropped when they saw their client step into the room. It was an older grey-haired man with tan skin, wearing a pair of round spectacles, ragged clothing and pointed hat who waltzed in holding a large bottle of sake.

"What is this?" The man spoke in a gruff voice before taking a drink from his bottle, allowing drops of sake to spill onto his ungroomed beard. As soon as he had finished taking a good drink, he leaned up against the doorway with his arm. "I sent a request out for standard NINJA protection. What's with these brats? You expect me to believe that these three are ninja? Especially that blonde kid with the idiotic look on his face."

"Haha!" Naruto laughed with his hands on his hips, as he stood in between his teammates. "Who's the blonde kid with the idiot look on his face?"

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they decided to allow Naruto to ponder his own stupidity. However Sasuke couldn't help but make a smart remark. "Are you color-blind?"

The gears in Naruto's brain finally started to turn as he realized who the man was talking about. The hyperactive ninja's attitude quickly soured as he attempted to charge the old man, only to be stopped by Kakashi who quickly grabbed Naruto by his collar.

"I'LL DEMOLISH YOU! LET ME AT HIM!" Naruto yelled as he flailed around in Kakashi's grip.

"You can't demolish the client Naruto, it doesn't work that way."

_It looks like I'm really stuck with these brats._ The man lamented as he took another drink from his bottle. "Alright, you all pay attention. My name is Tazuna, I am a master bridge builder. I'm currently building a bridge in my homeland, the land of waves. I expect you all to get me home safely, even if it costs your lives. Got it?"

"The land of waves huh? That's a quite a distance to be traveling." Kakashi stated.

"It'll be your first long-term mission." The Hokage spoke to the genin before turning his attention towards Tazuna. "These three may be young, but they are excellent ninja, more than qualified for this job. Their jonin will also accompany you to ensure that there are no mishaps. You will make it to the land of waves safely. This I can promise you."

"Jonin, eh?" Tazuna eyed the masked ninja, who had recently taken out his latest issue of Make-Out Paradise to read. "They all seem very reliable." He said sarcastically.

Naruto growled at this, still being held down by his collar.

_I don't like this guy at all…_Sasuke decided.

_He could try to be nicer._ Hinata thought.

"Since I have only just assigned this mission, these ninja will need time to get ready. You all should be able to leave for the land of waves first thing tomorrow morning." The older man recommended. "We can provide you a place to sleep until you're ready to go. Free of charge, of course."

"That's no good." Tazuna shook his head as his voice suddenly became stern. "I need to get back to the Land of Waves as soon as possible. If these people can't take me today, then find someone who can." He ordered.

_He's rather pushy for a client, isn't he?_ Kakashi thought, not even bothering to look up from his book.

_Difficult ninja, difficult clients…this just isn't my day is it?_ Sarutobi sighed to himself before looking over at Kakashi, still holding down Naruto. "Kakashi…do you feel you can get yourselves prepared for the journey ahead in a few hours?"

"Sure. It's only a simple job after all, we won't need very many supplies since we'll just be fighting random bandits at the most." Kakashi said.

At those words, a drop of sweat dripped down the back of Tazuna's neck as his gaze shifted to the floor. Something that did not go unnoticed by Sasuke, who narrowed his eyes at the old man.

"That's all well and good." The Hokage turned his head over to Tazuna. "Alright, mister Tazuna, I can have these ninja depart with you within two hours, is that fast enough?"

"Yeah…sure." He answered simply before turning his back to everyone, preparing to exit the room. "I'll be waiting at the village entrance gate. Don't take your time."

"Some first client." Naruto grumbled.

_I wonder what was with that look earlier?_ Sasuke wondered.

**Konoha's Entrance Gate-2 Hours later**

Tazuna leaned on the large gateway of Konoha's gate doors, a bottle of sake in his hand, awaiting his ninja body guards' arrival.

_So this is it…_ Tazuna thought to himself. _I think I may actually be able to get away with this lie. But for how long? Will these ninja be strong enough to handle this? Wonder if they'll find out the truth…_ The old man lifted the bottle to his mouth, taking down a large chug of sake to calm his nerves.

"You know, it's not good for men your age to drink so much." A familiar, nonchalant voice spoke. Tazuna turned around to see the tall, silver-haired jonin approaching him with the three genin walking close behind him.

"About time you all showed up." Tazuna spat. "I was about to leave by myself."

"Now, now. There's no need for that. As you can see we're all here and ready to go." Kakashi said.

"ALRIGHT!" Naruto shouted pumping his fists into the air. "Let's GO!"

"Does this noisy little runt have to come too?" Tazuna grumbled to Kakashi who was standing there, scratching the back of his head.

"NOISY LITTLE RUNT?! THAT'S IT! I'LL KILL YA! LEMME AT HIM!" Naruto prepared to charge Tazuna again, only to be stopped by Kakashi who was once more holding onto Naruto's collar.

"What did I tell you Naruto? We're supposed to protect the client, not endanger him." Kakashi sighed, knowing that his words were going in one ear and out the other.

"Why did we have to get THIS guy of all people for a client!?" Naruto complained.

"Naruto…YOU were the one who begged for a higher ranked mission." Kakashi reminded him. "You got what you wanted, so don't complain."

"Hmph!" Naruto folded his arms across his chest as he sat down with his legs crossed on the ground, pouting like a child.

"Like I said…nothing but a brat." Tazuna scoffed. "Do you really expect me to trust my life to this thing?"

Another nerve was struck. Suddenly Naruto shot up, pointing his finger directly at Tazuna's face. "You just keep talkin' old man! One day I'm going to be the next Hokage! And then you'll be looking up to me!" Naruto declared proudly.

The bridge builder's face did not falter, as he took another drink. "The day you become Hokage is the day I sprout wings and fly." He replied bluntly, which irritated the blonde haired ninja even more.

"How about we all just get going before things get too violent?" Kakashi suggested, attempting to keep the peace.

Sasuke and Hinata both stood silently off to the side. Each of them locked in their own thoughts, completely ignoring the drunken rages of the old man and the ranting of their energetic teammate.

_A C-ranked mission…finally I get something worth my time…_Sasuke thought.

_This is a chance to prove myself…a chance to get stronger! And maybe…I could also get closer to Naruto…_ Hinata blushed lightly as she imagined spending over three days by Naruto's side.

Kakashi observed the two noble clan members, then glanced over at the 12 year old Naruto arguing with the elderly drunk. _Won't this be a fun couple of days._ He sighed.

Packed and ready to go, team 7 and their client began their journey towards the land of waves.

**A Few Hours Later In the Forest…**

"This is boring…" Naruto whined as he walked with his hands folded behind the back of his head. "Nothin's happened yet."

"That's supposed to be a good thing." Kakashi said without even looking up from his tiny orange book.

The five were now walking into a forest clearing. Kakashi noticed something glimmer from the corner of his eye. He peeked downwards, noticing a puddle of water though he continued to walk as if he didn't see it. "Hm…" the jonin mumbled to himself, as he turned his attention back towards his book.

As the group continued to walk, the ninja failed to notice their elderly client beginning to breathe heavily.

"Hey! You lot are walkin' way too fast!" Tazuna groaned. "Show some empathy for the elderly, would ya?"

The four ninja all stopped walking, turning around to see the bridge-builder staggering and sweating as his legs struggled to keep walking. When he couldn't take it anymore, Tazuna slumped to the ground, sitting flat on his butt. "That's it! That's as far as I can go for today!" He declared.

"You want to stop here?" Kakashi looked up from his book. "But weren't you in some sort of hurry to get to the Land of Waves?" He reminded him.

"Yeah, I wanna get back home, but not in a body bag! We walk anymore and I'll die of exhaustion!" Tazuna responded, releasing a heavy sigh as he pulled out his bottle of sake. "Phew…I need to recharge." He mumbled.

_Maybe you'd be a little healthier if you didn't drink so much…_Kakashi wanted to respond to him, but didn't because he knew that saying such things would only create conflict.

"Well maybe you'd be a little healthier if you didn't drink so much!" Naruto declared as he pointed towards the drinking bridge builder.

_Oh Naruto…_Kakashi shakes his head.

"Mister Tazuna is older…maybe we should take a break for him." Hinata suggested as she gently placed a hand on top of Naruto's shoulders, attempting to keep the peace.

"Yeah…what the girl said!" Tazuna seconded.

Kakashi glanced back at the puddle of water, a mere 20 feet away from them. "Very well…" The jonin said as he slipped his little orange book down into his pocket. "…we'll stop here for about an hour or so."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the usually laid back jonin. _If we're taking a break, why'd he put away his book?_ Kakashi almost never put down that thing, even in battle. The ever-observant Uchiha boy was beginning to wonder what was going through his sensei's head.

Naruto slumped to the ground, laying flat on his back. "What a waste of time…" He mumbled. _…I was hoping this would be a real mission. With fighting, and action! Instead, it feels like we're just babysitting some old man…_ Naruto sighed to himself, as he closed his eyes, preparing to take a short nap.

"Uhm…Naruto…" A soft voice whispered.

Naruto opened one eye to look up at his blue haired teammate kneeling next to him, who was holding a wooden box in her hands. "What is it?" the blonde haired ninja asked.

"It's…well…" Hinata's eyes shifted off to the side as she began to blush. "I-I made…a-a…lunch for y-you…Naruto."

"Really?" The boy excitedly shot up, sitting with his legs crossed and arms outstretched to receive the boxed lunch.

"Hey!" A gruff voice moaned. "Why does the kid get food and I don't?!"

"D-Don't worry, I packed a lunch for everyone." Hinata said as she pulled out several wooden boxes from her bag, displaying them on the ground around her. Each box had the name of its intended recipient engraved on it.

"Well that was nice of you." Kakashi said as he took his box and sat down next to Tazuna.

The five began to gather in a circle around the boxed lunches. Tazuna sat in between Kakashi and Naruto while Sasuke sat in between Kakashi and Hinata. Each of them all grabbed the lunches with their names on it, and opened the box, revealing each of their favorite foods.

"RAMEN!" Naruto's face lit up completely.

"Omusubi…" _With okaka and tomatoes._ Sasuke allowed a light smile to grace his face.

"Salt-broiled saury." Kakashi spoke in surprise.

"Inarizushi." Tazuna stared at the food for a minute then turned to face Hinata, intending to ask the very question that everyone was thinking. "How'd you know what my favorite food was?"

"I guessed." Hinata responded simply.

_Getting 4 out of 4 correct while guessing people's favorite foods is impossible._ Sasuke, Kakashi and Tazuna all thought at once, while Naruto simply enjoyed his ramen.

"Well thank you, Hinata." Kakashi spoke, being the only one to properly thank the Hyuga girl as the other three simply dug into their food.

"It's really…not that much…" Hinata replied softly, before she opened the wooden box which had prepared for herself.

Kakashi's gaze shifted over to Tazuna who, despite appearing desperate for food a minute ago, was taking small bites out of his food. After finishing about 1/3 of the Inarizushi, the old bridge builder set his utensils aside, then closed the box. He seemed to have a solemn look on his face as the old drunk looked upon the closed container. Kakashi could tell he was deep in thought.

"Something not to your liking?" The curious jonin decided to interrupt his thoughts.

"No…this food is great. I'm just not very hungry right now…" Tazuna responded.

"You seemed hungry a minute ago." Kakashi reminded him.

"Well I'm old. Appetites come and go…" The bridge builder spoke in a more serious tone. _Besides…I can't just sit here and enjoy all this delicious food while everyone back home is…_Tazuna shook his head, attempting not to think too deeply about THAT situation. The older man then turned his head towards Hinata. "Young lady, this is the best food that I've had in years. Thank you very much for the meal. I'll be sure to save the rest." He spoke in such an honest and heart-warming tone with a rusty old smile before placing the wooden box inside his pack.

"Y-You're welcome." Hinata replied.

Naruto slurped the last of the ramen noodles through his lips, swallowing quickly. "Man! That REALLY hit the spot!"

"You're already finished?" Even though she knew he loved ramen, Hinata was still surprised at the speed in which he devoured his food.

"It was delicious." Sasuke said softly, setting his box down on the ground in front of him.

"You too?!" Hinata herself had barely even finished half of her own food. _If I knew they ate so much...I would have made some more food._

Naruto looked over towards Kakashi, who was the only one who hadn't touched his food at all.

"You're not going to eat?" Naruto questioned.

"I ate before we left, so I'm not quite that hungry right now. I'll eat later." Kakashi assured him, standing up to stretch. He then took a moment to glance backwards, taking a peek at the area where he saw the puddle only to see that it was gone. Kakashi narrowed his eye as he began walking away from the group in the direction where the puddle should have been.

"Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto was the first to notice. "What are you doing?"

The tall, silver haired man looked up towards the sky. "Just watching the clouds…" he responded in a light-hearted tone. Sasuke continued to observe his sensei's odd behavior with curiosity.

_First the old man now Kakashi sensei…they're both acting strange._ Sasuke thought.

A light breeze whistled through the trees. There was a calm and peaceful silence for a few moments. It was quiet. Too quiet. Suddenly the trees and bushes erupt! The clank of heavy metal was all that could be heard as shuriken-chains suddenly found their way wrapped around Kakashi's body. "What's this?!" Kakashi exclaims. Two brothers, Gozu and Meizu reveal themselves, both holding ends of the chains with their metal gauntlets, with Kakashi stuck in the middle of them. "Do it!" One yells. Before either of the genin or Tazuna could react in terror, the two ninja pull the spike chains with great force, ripping Kakashi apart. As pieces of his body fall to the ground, Hinata screams with wide-beating eyes while Naruto yells "Kakashi Sensei!"

_That didn't just happen did it?!_ Hinata could barely finish her thought before the two brothers found their way behind Naruto. "Naruto! No!" She shouted.

"Now it's your turn!" The one brother said as he and his twin began to ready their chains.

Without hesitation, Sasuke sprung into action. Jumping in the air, he pulls out a shuriken and a kunai. He throws the shuriken, catching the brother's chains and pinning them a nearby tree while throwing the kunai with deadly precision through the ring of the shuriken into the tree, seeing to it that the brothers are unable to get loose. Stuck within inches of each other, Sasuke lands perfectly on the shoulders of both brothers. He grabs hold onto either of the brothers' gauntlets, shifting his weight and balance onto his arms as he pulls his legs in slightly, before kicking both brothers in the face with either foot. The brothers grunt before quickly releasing the chains from their gauntlets, freeing them from the tree. Gozu makes his way towards Tazuna while Meizu runs towards Naruto, who is still frozen in fear.

_No! I have to stop them! _Hinata finally came to her senses as she activated her Byakugan and shifted to a gentle fist stance, preparing to strike the oncoming ninja.

However, he was prepared. "GENTLE FIST USER!" Gozu shouted to Meizu.

Instead of killing him, Meizu grabbed the frightened Naruto by his upper arm, quickly throwing him over towards Gozu. Hinata readied her palm with all the chakra she could muster and began charging Gozu. It seemed like she would get a clear hit, when she noticed Naruto flying her way from the corner of her eyes. Gozu reached his hand up, grabbing Naruto by the back of his suit, before throwing the boy in front of him-using him as a human shield.

_Oh No! I can't stop!_ Hinata was mere inches from hitting him, at this point she could only reduce some of the chakra gathered in her hand as she deals a painful blow to Naruto's stomach, while Gozu is able to rush right past them. "I'm sorry! I-!" Hinata cuts herself off as Naruto painfully slumps down to the ground, holding his stomach tightly.

Meanwhile, Tazuna's eyes widened in fear as he saw the oncoming ninja who clearly possessed the intent to kill. However, it would not be an easy shot as Sasuke appeared in front of Tazuna at the last moment, preparing to act as a human shield himself. Hinata turned to see Sasuke and Tazuna in trouble. She quickly got out several senbon and prepared to aim for their vitals. She just hopes that she won't be too late.

Not caring if the brat in front of him dies, Gozu continues to charge at Sasuke, preparing to attack with the poisonous claws embedded in his gauntlets. However, his attack would never connect as he is abruptly halted when a thick arm wraps his neck, choking the breath out of him instantly and causing him to die of suffocation.

Everyone looks up in surprise to see what they at first believed to be a ghost.

"K-Kakashi sensei!" Hinata exclaimed happily as she observed the jonin carrying the two deceased ninja in a choke hold in either arm.

_Show off…_Sasuke huffed, having lost his big moment.

"But how…?" Naruto looked behind him, where he could have sworn that he saw his sensei die, only to find shredded pieces of logs lying about. "Kakashi sensei…used the replacement jutsu?"

_They saved my life after all…_Tazuna released a deep breath he didn't even realize he was holding.

"Sorry I didn't save you right away Naruto. I didn't mean for any of you to get hurt. Though I didn't expect you to freeze like that." Kakashi said before turning his back on the blonde haired boy.

Hinata couldn't help but look over at Naruto, who was still getting up off of the ground. She was surprised herself at his reaction. She could tell that he was really shaken. _I guess even Naruto gets scared sometimes. Maybe I should say something to him. _Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything Sasuke turned to face the blonde ninja, who was kneeling on the ground as he held his stomach with one hand.

"Hey." Sasuke called over to Naruto. "You aren't hurt are you? Scaredy-cat." He teased, striking a cord in Naruto's brain.

"Sasuke!" He shouted as he began running towards him, however he was quickly halted as he felt another painful sting in his stomach. The young ninja coughed up a small amount of blood, as he fell back onto both of his knees and hands.

"Naruto!" Hinata rushed over towards her fallen teammate.

"W-What…what the heck did you do to me, Hinata?" Naruto grunted as he continued gripping his stomach, attempting to suppress the pain.

Hinata panicked as she saw Naruto's small puddle of blood. _In the end, I wasn't much help at all. I just got in the way._ Hinata lowered her head in shame.

"Don't blame her for your faults. If you hadn't frozen up in the first place, you wouldn't have gotten in the way." Sasuke reprimanded, without a single hint of sympathy in his voice.

Naruto growled.

"Enough you three!" Kakashi spoke sternly, gaining all of their attention. "Now isn't the time for team squabbles. We have another issue to discuss." The Jonin then turned his head towards the bridge builder. "Mister Tazuna…we need to talk."

**A few moments later, Naruto is standing upright again, and all five are gathered around the bodies of the two ninja that had attacked them.**

"These two are Chunin from the village hidden in the mist." Kakashi stated.

"How did you know about their ambush?" Hinata asked.

"There was a puddle…" Kakashi began to explain. "…on a sunny day, when it hasn't rained in weeks."

"If you knew all that…why'd you leave it up to the genin to do all the fighting?" The old man inquired.

"I could have just taken them out right away, but then I would have learned nothing. I had to see what they were after. Were they after us? Ninja against Ninja or…were they after you? The master bridge builder." Kakashi turned his accusing eye towards Tazuna, glaring in a terrifying way-as much as a one-eyed man could.

"W-What are you getting at?" The older man became nervous.

"When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highway men. But you never mentioned that there were ninja after you, hunting you down. Our job was simply to get you to the land of waves and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew that we would be fielding enemy ninja then we would have staffed differently and charged you for the cost of a B rank mission or higher. Appearently you have your reasons…but lying to us in unacceptable." Kakashi spoke in a spine-chillingly serious tone.

"You got me." The bridge builder lowered his head in shame.

"Why did you lie to us?" Sasuke asked.

"I guess I have no choice now but to tell you the truth. No…I want you to know the truth. There is a powerful man that seeks my life. He's a very short man, but he casts a very large and dark shadow. He's quite famous throughout the world. We call him many names where I come from, but you all would know him as Gato."

"Gato? From Gato transport? He's a business leader. Everyone's heard of him!"

"Gato is a very powerful business tycoon, that's true. But underneath the surface, with the same ruthless methods he uses to take over businesses, he sells drugs and contraband. He utilizes gangs and ninja to carry out his dark deeds. One year ago, Gato set his sights upon the Land of Waves. He came to our island and used his vast wealth to take total control of our transport and shipping. Anyone who stood in his way…was eliminated. For an island nation like us, anyone who controls the sea, controls everything: finance, government, even our very lives. But there's one thing he fears…the bridge. Once the bridge is completed, we will be joined to the mainland and that will break his control." Tazuna paused for a moment, allowing everything to sink in. "I am the bridge builder."

"That's terrible…" Hinata pitied Tazuna.

"So then these ninja were hired by Gato." Sasuke stated, while Naruto simply stared on, looking confused as always. "But why did you hide the truth from us?" Sasuke continued as he stared down the older man.

"Because…the land of waves is an impoverished nation. Even our nobles have little money. The people of our land simply cannot afford an A or B ranked mission."

"Even so…this mission is far beyond what we signed up for. We have no obligation to continue." Kakashi stated bluntly.

Tazuna sighed. "You're right. You don't have any obligation to continue."

Everyone turned to look at the bridge builder, in shock.

"Once you leave, I'll continue to head back to the land of waves, alone. Though I probably won't make it. I'm certain I'll be killed before I even reach the shores." Tazuna spoke grimly.

"But…" The older man's tone became much lighter. "Don't feel bad about that. Of course my sweet little grandson will be crying for days. The poor boy already lost his father. Not to mention my daughter will probably go on hating the ninja of the leaf village, cursing them the rest of her life for abandoning her aging father. Oh and how I was hoping to see all of their smiling faces once more. But don't worry about that, it's none of your concern."

The four of them groaned all at once.

_Man this guy likes to hit low, doesn't he?_ Naruto thought.

_This man…really has no shame…_Hinata thought.

"Well…since everyone seems up to it…I guess we'll have to keep guarding you." Kakashi decided.

"Oh…I'm very grateful." The elder man bowed, hiding a large grin on his bearded face. _I win._

_The NEXT ninja they send won't be a Chunin, but a jonin…an elite ninja with deadly skills._ Kakashi sighed to himself at the idea that he was risking his life on a mission that he didn't even sign up for. He then looked up at the darkening sky which was now colored orange and red. "It's getting late. We're done with walking for today, since I can imagine that you all are pretty tired by now. We'll set up camp here."

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit…meh. I had to get some exposition out the way, so I couldn't find too many places to put in character moments and stuff like that. But don't worry, the next chapter will be way more interesting! Zabuza will be coming in!

In case you're curious: Hinata's favorite food is Zenzai and Cinnamon Buns.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Chapter 7 is here! Sorry that it has been taking a minute for me to write this. I was not able to get onto the computer for a few days. But everything is working well now, and I will try to start updating much faster from now on.

**Chapter 7: Return of the Dreaded Survival Exercise!**

The sun had long set on the campsite of the group. The sky was now colored black, decorated with thousands of white stars and a large half moon. Everyone was laying out their sleeping bags around a roaring campfire. It was close to 9pm yet, despite their long day, no one had dozed off yet. Tazuna was sitting on top of his dark green sleeping bag, eating a little more of the inarizushi. Sasuke was lying on top of his dark blue sleeping bag, with his arms behind his head, looking up at the stars. Naruto was digging through his bag, trying to find something to entertain himself while Kakashi sat on the ground, with his legs crossed, reading his favorite little book. Hinata was the only one who was distanced from the camp. She had offered to take the first watch, even though no one was asleep yet. She was about 40 feet away, leaning against one of the trees, staring up at the sky, replaying her memories of everything that had taken place that day.

_So this wasn't just a simple C-ranked mission after all. Even though we said we'd stay…would we really be able to fight off another enemy ninja? What if they send someone stronger next time?_ Hinata remembered how powerful the two chunin who attacked her were. She even remembered the two chunin who had attacked Hanabi at the festival. Although the genin had taken out one, the other nearly killed her and everyone else. If Kakashi sensei and the other jonin hadn't been there, they'd all be dead. Hinata remembered the fear she felt as the life was choked out of her body while her sister was about to be kidnapped. And again she remembered how she had temporarily became frozen with fear when the two ninja brothers had first attacked Tazuna and seemingly killed Kakashi. _To think that we're going to be fighting more people like that…_ Hinata began to tremble a little as she felt a terrible pit of fear arise from her stomach. _I don't think I can do this..._ It was at this point that Hinata recalled the words of a seemingly cold-hearted teammate of hers.

"_Getting over emotional never helped anyone…"_

Hinata stopped her trembling as she recalled her conversation with Sasuke. _That's right…I can't let anyone down. I'm a ninja now…I can't let fear get in my way! If the enemy is strong…then I'll just have to become stronger…and train harder! _The Hyuga girl became filled with determination.

"Hinata." Kakashi called.

Hinata turned around to face her jonin who was waving his hand, motioning for her to rejoin the rest of the group. She hurried over towards the camp.

"What is it?" She inquired.

"I was planning to talk to you all in the morning, but since no one can sleep, I guess now is better than never." Kakashi said, standing up.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"As you are all aware, the nature of our mission has changed. This no longer a C-ranked mission, but an A-ranked one, where death is highly probable." He paused for a moment to observe the tensed faces of his genin team. "However, we won't abandon the bridge builder now. We will continue this mission, but we won't just be defending him from 2nd rate robbers. We'll be defending him from Chunin and Jonin, elite ninjas with deadly skills. Though I realize that all of you are genin, and new ones at that, I do believe that you are all more than capable of getting through this alive. Though it will NOT be easy. So I've decided to give you a little training while we're here, to help you all improve your fighting skills and work better as a team."

"Training?" Naruto's face lost all tension, as he grinned, becoming suddenly excited.

"What kind of training?" Sasuke inquired.

"Your favorite kind." Kakashi said cryptically as he let out a dark chuckle, causing the three genin to tense up again. The last time their sensei laughed like that, it meant bad news. "We're going to do a survival exercise."

"W-We're going t-to have to try and…t-take something from you again?" Hinata spoke nervously as she and her teammates all shivered, thinking about the painful beat-down they had received while trying to steal those bells from Kakashi during their first survival exercise.

"No, no. I won't be fighting you." Kakashi closed his eye, in a smiling manner.

The three of them released a huge sigh in relief, perhaps too soon.

"You will be fighting each other." He stated bluntly.

"!" All of their eyes widened at this.

"Wait, what?! But didn't you say that we needed to work better as a TEAM?!" Naruto shouted.

"I did."

"But then why…?"

"Teamwork IS important. Allied ninja must be able to cooperate with one another while on the battle field. However…teamwork is only half the battle. It is equally important that you all hold your own individual skills. Not only that, it's much easier for you to come up with team strategies if you know what your teammates are capable of." Kakashi explained.

"But shouldn't we save our supplies and energy in case of enemy attack?" Sasuke stated.

"That's why I'm here."

"B-But what if one of us gets…seriously hurt?! W-What are we going to do if…if one of us accidently takes a kunai somewhere deadly?" Hinata added, her voice a little shaky.

"Don't worry, you won't be using weapons. This exercise is strictly ninjutsu and taijutsu." Kakashi said.

"Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, huh?" Sasuke smirked. No doubt he was confident that he'd be able to best both of his teammates in either category.

"I was barely paying attention when I fought you all during the bell test, mostly because I doubted that you three would even pass, so I'm not entirely sure of all of your abilities myself." Kakashi confessed. "This free-for-all battle will not only serve as a way for you all to understand each other better, but also for me to confirm everything that I do know about you and for me to learn new things about you: your battle habits, your weaknesses, your strengths and battle range, and most importantly; your ability to control your chakra under harsh conditions."

Naruto scratched his head. "Control our chakra?"

"Chakra control is the ability of a ninja to maintain a certain level of chakra while using any jutsu." He explained. "To perform a jutsu, a certain amount of chakra is required. For example, to create a shadow clone, roughly 5 percent of your chakra is required. Five percent is exactly how much energy is needed for the jutsu to be done correctly. However, many people, even advanced ninja, are incapable of using ONLY 5 percent of their chakra to perform this jutsu. Do you know why?"

"Um…"

"It's because…many ninja lack the ability to properly concentrate chakra. They lack chakra control." Hinata answered.

"Correct."

"I don't get it…" Naruto moaned.

"You will, sooner or later. Don't think about it too hard for now. This battle is just to see where you all stand. While I expect you to do your best, I don't want you to kill each other. Once you run out of chakra, that's it for you. So try to conserve as much energy as possible while you're fighting."

"But…what about mister Tazuna?" Hinata asked, weakly hoping that she could stay behind and avoid getting involved in this type of training.

"I will stay here with Tazuna, while I have a clone of mine examine you all."

Hinata lowered her head slightly as her last effort to avoid this fight had failed.

Noticing Hinata's nervous state, Kakashi placed his hand lightly on the top of her head. "Don't worry, Hinata." He began to speak in a comforting-fatherly tone. "I know that Sasuke and Naruto are weak and that you don't want to hurt them…but they'll have to man up sooner or later." He finished jokingly.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She raised her voice as the jonin simply chuckled.

Hesitantly, she glanced over at her two male teammates who were all of sudden looking at her with killing intent.

Their man-hood had just been challenged.

A drop of sweat trickled down the side of the pale-colored Hyuga's face. _Now they're really determined to fight…thanks a lot sensei!_

Kakashi closed his eye in a smiling manner. "Now…hand over your weapons and we'll head to a different clearing."

**A few moments later in a large forest clearing, not too far from the camp…**

The three members of team 7 all stood in a perfect triangle in the center of the clearing, each of them were an equal distance from one another. Kakashi-clone was leaning up against a tree on the sidelines, observing his students as they all silently examined each other.

_I really don't want to hurt anyone._ Hinata thought as she looked over at Naruto._ But…I can't afford to hesitate when it comes to a fight anymore. Especially while we're on THIS type of mission. I have to get stronger. I have to give it my all! _The Hyuga girl shifted her eyes from one teammate to another. _Naruto will probably attack Sasuke first. I could join him…then again…Sasuke is pretty strong. _Hinata reflected back on their battles. She was the only person on team 7 to have witnessed both of her teammates' fight Kakashi with her Byakugan during their bell test. _Sasuke knows how to use advanced fire-style jutsu. He was even able to touch a bell during that test when fighting against Kakashi Sensei. He doesn't hesitate in battle. Even against those chunin brothers…_ The more she thought about it, the more she hestitated. _Now that I think about it…Naruto might be easier to fight. But…_Hinata continued to go back and forth in her mind. Unable to decide on a first target.

Sasuke was staring at Naruto who was glaring right back. _Knowing Naruto, he'll charge at me head on. I probably won't even need to use ninjutsu to beat this idiot. The only thing I have to worry about is those clones of his. _Sasuke remembered how his teammate had once caught him off guard and temporarily overpowered him(Naruto episode 3). He had told himself that he would never allow that to happen again. His gaze then shifted towards his female teammate. _And then there's her. She'll also probably attack me since she likes Naruto so much. I don't know much about her. She's pretty sharp with a senbon…but I'm not sure if I've ever really seen her do anything other than that._

_First, I'll beat up Sasuke! Then I'll go after Hinata. _Naruto thought simply, as he cracked his knuckles showcasing his trademark grin.

_They're examining each other. _Kakashi observed his three students as they all competed in what appeared to be the ultimate stare-down._ Although we have been on several D-ranked missions… before today, they've hardly had to lift a kunai. They've only worked together in battle once during the bell test, but they really didn't get to see each other's jutsu…other than Naruto's shadow clones, that is._ Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he noticed Hinata settling into a gentle fist stance. _I wonder if it was really okay to have her fighting them too. It'll be difficult to see how much chakra they have if their tenketsu(chakra points) get blocked. Then again…it's a chance for her to improve her skills as well._

"CHAAARRGGEE!" Naruto shouted as he rushed towards Sasuke.

_He's so obvious. _Sasuke prepared himself.

Naruto charged with his left hand wound back, preparing to thrust it forward once he was close enough. He threw his first punch, aimed at Sasuke face, but of course the simple attack was easily blocked. Sasuke caught Naruto's fist with his left hand before countering with a punch to the blonde boy's face. He staggered backwards at the sheer power of Sasuke's steel jab, but he would not be deterred. He charged Sasuke again, throwing more punches. The black-haired Uchiha responded by simply dodging and blocking his attacks, occasionally throwing back a few punches himself. Naruto throws another punch, which leaves him wide open as Sasuke dodges, crouching down to the ground. The Uchiha smirks as he proceeds to counter by upper-cutting the blonde haired ninja, sending him flying back into the air.

_Too easy…_The Uchiha thought, but he had relaxed too soon as Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke. _A SHADOW CLONE!_ The real Naruto was descending from above, preparing to drop kick the Uchiha boy. Having learned from observing his sensei, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's leg with one hand, before spinning him around and releasing his grip, sending Naruto flying back 10 feet. _That was close._ Once again the Uchiha boy let his guard down too quickly. Hearing the light pat of delicate footsteps, he quickly turned around in time to see Hinata charge at him. She thrust her palm forward, aiming at his abdomen, Sasuke quickly moved his body backwards. She missed him, physically, by an inch. However Sasuke felt as if he had been lightly poked.

_Well isn't Sasuke the popular target?_ Kakashi thought as he continued to observe them.

Sasuke began to raise his leg as he performed a swift round house kick, aimed directly at Hinata's head. But the Hyuga girl was too fast, she threw her upper body backwards, almost bending back into a bridge position as she felt the wind of his kick whistle past her cheeks. Hinata quickly sat back up, having pulled her left palm back, she aimed again at Sasuke's chest. As he turned to face her, she thrust her palm forward, Sasuke raised his forearm to block her hand.

_Not a good idea, Sasuke…you want to dodge that attack, not block it._ Kakashi shook his head as he mentally noted his student's mistake.

Suddenly what felt like a wisp of air, blew through Sasuke's right forearm. The Uchiha boy's eyes widened as he took a large step backwards, leaping a few yards away from the Hyuga girl.

_I hit him! _Hinata had resumed her gentle fist position, with her eyes fixated on Sasuke, who was standing up right, beginning to reassess his opponent.

"Tch." Sasuke sucked his teeth, a little annoyed that she actually managed to hit him. _She's faster than I thought…and more agile. Guess I won't have time to play around with this one._ Sasuke raised his right hand, attempting to gather chakra in order to perform another jutsu. However, he quickly noticed that something was not quite right. _I can't feel any chakra in my right arm! It feels entirely hollow. _Sasuke remembered the strange sensation he felt when her palm had connected with his arm._ She didn't hit me all that hard. Barely hit me at all!_ His eyes shifted from her fighting stance to her face. Sasuke eyes narrowed as he spotted a somewhat familiar sight. Veins were protruding from either side of Hinata's face, into her eyes, giving her an intense, somewhat frightening glare. He had seen those eyes once before(chapter 2). Sasuke suddenly remembered a few words that Kakashi sensei had mentioned before.

"_The Hyuga clan is one of the most prestigious and powerful clans of the hidden leaf village…but they're mostly known for their powerful kekkei genkai, their dojutsu: The Byakugan…the Sharingan was said to have been derived from the Byakugan."_

_So that must be what he was talking about earlier…the Byakugan. But what does it do? Did she do something to me with those eyes while we were fighting?_ Sasuke was deep in thought.

Hinata met her teammate's glare with one of her own. She had made up her mind that she wasn't backing down from this fight. _He hasn't made any movements. I wonder if he's planning something? In that case, should I attack first? I already know what he can do…and as long as we're mostly focusing on taijutsu here…I may be able to win after all! _Hinata took one step forward, something that did not go unnoticed by Sasuke who quickly raised both of his arms up in a defensive position.

_Here she comes!_ Sasuke thought, completely unaware of a certain orange figure lounging towards him in the background.

"GOTCHA!" Naruto yelled as he managed to tackle Sasuke from behind, causing them both to fumble onto the ground. "Uzumaki Dog Pile!" Naruto shouted as he poofed up 10 other clones, each of them adding to the body slam.

_I can't believe I let this loser get me! _Sasuke cursed himself for not paying attention.

"Ha ha! I got you!" Naruto taunted, as the real him made his way to the top of the dog pile. "Now it's payback time for callin' me a scaredy cat! SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" The hyperactive ninja shouted as he formed his hand sign, summoning more and more clones onto the dog pile. It was raining Narutos!

_Naruto…_Hinata giggled a little at the sight of her teammate's unique jutsu.

Off on the sidelines, the Kakashi-clone chuckled a bit himself, as he witnessed the proud Uchiha get piled on by what looked like a growing, orange mountain. _He may not be the most skilled ninja. But he's definitely the most unpredictable. _The Jonin then narrowed his eye as he became somewhat serious again. _Still…Naruto has such poor chakra control. He uses even more when he's all riled up like that. I'm willing to bet that all those clones will disappear, along with his remaining chakra, in less than the next…2 minutes._

Hinata stood there admiring her orange clad hero for a few moments before she suddenly noticed a surge of Sasuke's chakra beginning to rise from the bottom of the dog pile.

All of the Naruto clones began to sweat. "Hey, is it hot in here, or what?"

A ball of flame shoots up from Sasuke's mouth, consuming the Narutos. All of the clones each disappear within milliseconds of each other, in a large cloud of smoke. Lucky for the real Naruto, his last clone took most of the burn damage, though the he still ended up getting launched a couple yards away from Sasuke. The Uchiha boy slowly rose from the ground. He was a bit scratched up now, and had begun to sweat, his breathing was starting to become heavy, though he tried his best to hide it.

_That fireball jutsu again._ Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he began to examine Sasuke's condition._ It still amazes me how such a young genin could be so advanced. Still…even with his clan's affinity for fire, that technique still consumed most of his chakra. It should only take 30 percent of his energy to perform that jutsu, but he undoubtedly used 50 percent or more there. His chakra concentration is a little off. Sasuke seemed to have better chakra control during the bell test. He must be the type that places more energy than necessary in a jutsu when placed under pressure._

The jonin's gaze shifted over towards Naruto, who was laying face up and unconscious, on the ground, appearently the poor boy had landed head first on a small pillow-sized stone after being launched into the air. His orange jacket had a large, gaping hole in the abdomen area, revealing his black t-shirt underneath. The rest of Naruto's clothes were covered in dirt and was scratched up.

_Looks like he's done for now._ Kakashi concluded.

In mere seconds, Hinata had slipped behind Sasuke, preparing to thrust her palm into his back. However, Sasuke wasn't going to go out so easily. The Uchiha boy jumped into the air to avoid her strike. Then in midair, he turned his body around as he lifted his right leg, preparing to bring it down with all the strength he could muster. Hinata stepped backwards, allowing his heel to strike the ground a couple of inches away from her feet as he lands in a crouched position. Before she could even think about attacking, Sasuke uses his outstretched leg to support his next attack as he swings his other leg, attempting to strike her head with another round house kick. Hinata pulls back her head to dodge the attack, but Sasuke isn't done yet. He then turns around and uses his other hand to throw a quick punch.

_He's moving a lot faster than before!_ Hinata noted as she tilted her head to avoid his fist. She then grabs his arm with one hand. _But I can still end this!_ Hinata prepares to palm her teammate in the chest with her free hand. He smirks at her. At the last second, as Hinata is about to strike, Sasuke rips his arm from her delicate grip, ducking out of the way. She misses, and is left wide open, allowing Sasuke to round house kick her, with his lower leg hitting her stomach. The force of the kick nearly knocks her off of her feet as she slides a few feet backwards, but she is able to stabilize herself within a few moments. Sasuke dashes in front of her, his fist wound back, preparing to uppercut her. But Hinata won't go so easily. She throws her upper body back as Sasuke's fist rises, missing her chin by a mere inch. She then proceeds to flip backwards, creating a bit of distance between her and the aggressive Uchiha.

_He's very good at taijutsu…I can't afford to hold anything back. _Hinata resumes her gentle fist position.

Sasuke stands up straight. _She's harder to hit than Naruto, but she's not untouchable._ Sasuke cracks his knuckles. _I don't have much chakra left…not enough to do another fireball. It's probably better to finish this using taijutsu._

_He's going to try and fight Hinata in hand-to-hand combat. Not a good idea._ Kakashi knew how this was going to end.

Sasuke attacks first, confident that he can overpower the Hyuga girl. He attacks aggressively, throwing punches and kicks of all kinds and at different angles. Yet, not one of his attacks connect as Hinata manages to dodge all of them, while countering with her own light-handed strikes. Sasuke gets palmed lightly in his abdomen, upper right thigh and his left shoulder. Each blow felt like he was getting hit by a pillow which carried a light gust of wind. Hinata's light handed strikes barely fazed the Uchiha boy, who simply brushes them off at first. But then suddenly, Sasuke feels his body failing him as his strength begins to deteriorate slowly.

_What is going on with me? She is barely even hitting me, yet why does it feel like something's not quite right here?_ Sasuke was now just barely dodging Hinata's attacks. He was completely on the defense, as he had lost all of his attacking energy. He was steadily being pushed back by Hinata's relentless strikes. Sasuke began to take the Hyuga's strikes more seriously he went out of his way to dodge his teammate's open handed attacks. _Something's not right here…_ He thought to himself as he wondered about her unique fighting style. However, during his thought process, the Uchiha had let his guard down for one moment.

_I see an opening!_ Hinata narrowed her eyes as she aimed her palm towards Sasuke's head.

_Crap!_ Was all the Uchiha boy could think as he saw Hinata's hand getting closer and closer to his face with each passing millisecond.

*Grip*

An inch from Sasuke's face, Hinata's palm was halted as her wrist was being held in place by Kakashi.

"I think that's enough for now." He said.

"Kakashi sensei…" Sasuke stared at him wide eyed, still amazed by the Jonin's speed.

Kakashi dropped Hinata's wrist. "I'm sure you all have a better understanding of each other's fighting abilities now, and so do I."

"The fight's over then…" Hinata sighed in relief as the veins around her eyes faded.

"But…I thought you said we'd fight until we were out of chakra!" Sasuke protested, his pride a little hurt that he actually had to get saved by his sensei.

"You ARE out of chakra." Kakashi replied. "See for yourself."

"I can't be…" Sasuke attempted to gather his chakra with a hand sign, only to discover that what the jonin said was true. His eyes widened. "What? But…that doesn't make any sense! I didn't use all of my chakra! I'm sure of it!"

"You're right. You didn't USE all of your chakra. But you did LOSE all of your chakra." Kakashi said cryptically.

Sasuke looked at his sensei with a puzzled look on his face, an eye brow raised, clearly not understanding his words.

"Well, anyway." Ignoring Sasuke's stare, Kakashi closed his eye, in a smiling manner, and placed his hand on top of Hinata's head, patting her lightly. "Good job Hinata. You performed excellently."

"I…did?" She blinked, not used to people complimenting her on her fighting skills.

"You maintained your chakra control the entire time while you were fighting, and even now you still have more than half of your chakra left. That kind of control is far above the average genin and even Chunin. If you keep training, you may even surpass me one day."

"T-Thank you...Sensei." Hinata's cheeks blushed red in embarrassment. She wasn't used to such kind words coming from anyone other than her sister. Hinata was so used to her father criticizing her every mistake when she fought, compliments were completely foreign to her.

Meanwhile Sasuke is starting to become upset, his irritation was becoming visible on his face. He wasn't used to losing, and he wasn't used to not understanding HOW he lost. It annoyed him even more that Kakashi was not explaining himself after saying such cryptic words earlier. If he were Naruto, he'd be yelling and throwing a tantrum right now. But he's not and refuses to do anything like that loser. Instead he shoves his hands into his pockets, attempting to salvage what's left of his broken pride, and begins walking back towards the camp alone.

Hinata tilts her head slightly, caught off guard by his sudden movement. "Sasuke?" She said softly.

"Going for a walk." He replied bluntly as he continued to walk away without facing anyone.

_Somebody's upset. Oh well…he's got to get used to losing some times. _Kakashi shrugged to himself. _Although…he walked off before I could explain anything to him. I guess I'll have to talk to him about it tomorrow's. And Naruto too…_The jonin's gaze then shifted down towards the unconscious Uzumaki who looked as if he was just sleeping. Kakashi grabbed Naruto with one arm, carrying him like a suitcase. "Alright, Hinata, let's head back to the camp, shall we?"

**With Sasuke…**

Sasuke had been walking around the dark forest for about ten minutes on his own. While the quaint silence was usually comforting to him, it failed to distract the young ninja from what was really bothering him.

"_You're right. You didn't USE all of your chakra. But you did LOSE all of your chakra"_

"_You maintained your chakra control the entire time while you were fighting, and even now you still have more than half of your chakra left."_

Kakashi's words echoes through Sasuke's head. _I know for a fact that I didn't use all of my chakra. I should have had plenty left over and yet…_ He froze in place as he looked down at his hand. _My arm still feels numb…so does most of my body. _Sasuke touches his hand to his left shoulder, where Hinata had hit him. He remembered her strikes, how lightly she had touched him, yet each strike carried a gust of wind that felt like it blew right through his body. _Kakashi said that she had a little over half of her chakra left over. So she must have been using her chakra when she attacked me. But why?_ The Uchiha boy was starting to become frustrated as he couldn't figure this girl out. _Why does she fight in that strange stance? What is the Byakugan and how does it work? Is she able to drain chakra and if so, how? I never knew that much about Hinata to begin with. But even still…it's frustrating when someone over powers me like that and I can't even figure out how she did it! Was she always this strong? She never stood out at the academy, her grades were decent and class performance was good...but nothing extraordinary._ The Uchiha clenched his fists so tightly, they turned white. He hated not understanding anything. He hated being clueless.

The Uchiha boy was used to being the strongest and the best. He did not want to admit that either of his teammates might be catching up with him or may even be stronger than him. Sasuke had already made it up in his mind that both of his teammates…and all the other genin graduates, were beneath him in every way. And yet, even though it was only for a moment, Naruto managed to overpower Sasuke, and Hinata would have likely defeated him if that fight had continued. Each second he thought about it, he grew angrier and angrier. _I refuse to accept this! I am Sasuke Uchiha, and I don't lose. It was a stupid training exercise, that's all it was. I wasn't even taking it seriously._ Having pacified his pride with denial, Sasuke forced his hands back into his pockets, before deciding to head back to camp._  
><em>

**The Next Morning…**

"WHAT?!" Naruto screamed in his jonin's face. "What do you mean I got knocked out?!"

Despite being the first person to "fall asleep" the night before, Naruto was almost the last person to wake up in the morning. Of course Naruto was clueless about what had happened and how he lost consciousness so, to avoid playing 20 questions with Naruto later, Kakashi decided to tell him everything that happened during their exercise the night before. However, the jonin was beginning to regret his decision.

"Ay, kid!" Tazuna groaned as he rolled out of his sleeping bag. "Do you have to be so loud in the morning?!"

"How could I let myself get knocked out by Sasuke?!" Naruto ignored the older man's words as he continued to throw his tantrum.

"Technically…you were knocked out by a rock." Kakashi corrected.

"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!"

"Even if that rock wasn't there you would have still lost, loser." Sasuke said cooly as he stood with his hands in his pockets.

For once, Naruto decided not to lash out at Sasuke, for he now had the perfect come-back to Sasuke's insult. "Well look at you talkin' all big. But weren't you the one that had to have Kakashi sensei SAVE you from Hinata?"

The troublemaking genin grinned as he saw Sasuke's eye begin to twitch in irritation. "He intervened on his own because I was out of chakra…" the Uchiha spat through his teeth. "…I would have finished the fight if he would have let me."

"Oh whatever…you're just mad cause you got beat by a girl!" Naruto taunted.

"At least I stayed conscious til the end!"

"Was that before or after Hinata kicked your butt?"

"Shut up, you loser!"

Kakashi clapped his hands together twice as he appeared in between Naruto and Sasuke, preventing what would have been an inevitable fight. "Girls, girls…you're both pretty. Now cut it out."

Sasuke and Naruto glared at their sensei, and then at each other, both of them holding their tongue.

"Now Naruto...I told you all of that so that you could learn more about both Sasuke AND Hinata's fighting styles, in order to work better with them as a team." Kakashi said, looking down at the blonde-haired terror.

"Speaking of which...I have something I want to say to you all about what I observed last night. Hinata!" Kakashi called out to his female student, who helping Tazuna fit his sleeping bag back into his pack.

"Yes sensei?" She responded.

"Come over here for a minute."

Leaving Tazuna away for a moment, Hinata wandered over towards the rest of her squad, noting Sasuke's obvious glare towards her.

"Now from what my clone has witnessed...you all have varying levels of chakra control and you all have troublesome battle habits that don't help. Naruto. You have the worst chakra control out of everyone in this group. And you have absolutely NONE when you get riled up. You shouldn't allow yourself to ever get cocky to the point where you feel it's alright to go all out just because you obtained the upper hand in a fight. You weren't just knocked out by the rock, your body was almost completely devoid of chakra and all because of a simple shadow clone jutsu. You also have a bad habit of rushing into battle without thinking. That could certainly get you killed one day."

Kakashi turned his head towards the Uchiha. "Sasuke, your chakra control is about what I'd expect for an average genin, but you still need work. Like Naruto, you allow yourself to become over confident in battle. You think so little of your opponents that you prematurely lower your guard, giving your enemy a possible opening. Unless you know everything about your opponent, never assume that you can wipe them out with just a few blows. Also, you seem to have a habit of using more chakra than necessary whenever you're in a bind. You all of people should know how important it is, to keep your cool in battle."

And lastly..."Hinata. Your chakra control is the best of this group. You were able to use and maintain your chakra effectively and you were the only one to come out of this training with most of your chakra left over. However, you do have some flaws. Your problems are the opposite of Naruto and Sasuke's. You lack confidence in yourself and therefore you hesitate and hold yourself back in battle. You need to learn to be more aggressive, or that hesitation may kill you one day. Having no restraint is problem, but so is having too much restraint. Remember that you all."

The three genin nodded as they somewhat accepted their sensei's criticisms with mixed feelings.

"Now that you all have witnessed each other in battle and are more in-tune with each other's abilities, it will be easier for you all to work together as a team the next time we face an enemy."

While Kakashi continued to talk with his students, a shadowy figure watches the team of ninja converse from a distance. The figure takes note of the jonin, almost immediately recognizing him. _No wonder the demon brothers failed in their mission. Kakashi of the Sharingan is with them._ He thought as he readied his weapon.

Kakashi immediately tensed as he sensed a pair of murderous eyes. _Killing intent?_He turned around just in time to see what looked like a spinning, human-sized butcher knife hurling towards Tazuna. "Everyone! Get down!" Kakashi ordered. Everyone immediately bends down on the ground allowing the giant blade to whip by.

Shuck!

The sword finds itself partially embedded inside a nearby tree across from the group. Everyone raises their head toward the sword, just in time to witness its wielder appear, standing on the giant blade's long handle. It was a tall man wearing nothing but pants, leg and arm warmers with ninja sandles and bandages covering his face. His muscular back was bare and was facing the group, although his head was turned around just enough for the man to glare down at his opponents.

"You..." Kakashi said as he narrowed his eye. A sign that he certainly recognized this mysterious attacker.

"Another assassin?!" Sasuke thought aloud.

"What's with that sword!?" Naruto exclaimed, almost in awe of the giant decapitator.

Kakashi took a few steps forward. "Zabuza Momochi…rouge ninja of the village hidden in the mist. Am I right?" He began to speak in an unusually serious tone.

Zabuza chuckled a little. "It seems I've become quite famous if even leaf village ninja know about me. I feel all special now." He raised his head a little. "Then again…I'm not the only celebrity here. Isn't that right? Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye."

_Sharingan?_ Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as he glanced over at his sensei's back.

"Looks like you already know what to expect then." Kakashi raised his hand, taking a hold of his headband. He slowly raised his hand, showing his left eye which was identical to his other one, only it was closed and possessed a slit-like scar running over it.

Kakashi's left eye opened, revealing the bloody red sharingan.

"Well, well…looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action." Zabuza mused, as he turned his body around, completely facing the group of ninjas.

"Everyone keeps talking about the Sharingan. But what is it?" Naruto asked no one in particular.

"Sharingan." Sasuke began to explain. "It's a rare form of dojutsu. It allows the user to see through and comprehend any form of taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu, and reflect the attack back on the opponent. Though it has other powers but..." _The Sharingan is a dojutsu that only appears in members of the Uchiha clan. My clan. Just how does HE have the Sharingan eye? __He's not a relative, as far as I know. Or is he? Do I really know nothing about anyone on my squad?_

"Those legendary eyes can also analyze an opponent's technique and copy it down to very last detail." Zabuza completed the explanation before his eyes fixated on his rival jonin. "...Kakashi Hatake, the copy ninja. The man who copied over 1000 jutsu. I've always wondered what it would be like to fight you. Ever since I saw your profile written down in the assassin guild's bingo book. Let's see if you're as good as they say."

With Zabuza's last sentence, the area became dim and foggy as a strange mist began to roll in.

"What is this? It's becoming harder to see." Hinata looked around, beginning to lose sight of her teammates.

"This mist…" Kakashi became fully alert as he immediately recognized the danger. "Naruto! Sasuke! Hinata! Surround Tazuna and protect him with your life! Leave this one to me!" Kakashi commanded.

The three genin immediately surrounded the bridge builder, each with a kunai in hand; Naruto on the left, Sasuke on the right and Hinata in front of Tazunza, a perfect triangle surrounding the elderly man.

"Looks like I'll have to cut you all down before I can get to the old man. Well then..." Zabuza crouched down while still maintaining his balance on the sword. "Let's get started shall we?"

A/N: Zabuza's here! Sorry if you were expecting the Zabuza fight this chapter. But I felt like writing this in, instead. At least there was a fight scene. The next chapter will probably be up shortly after this one. Although its results will be the same as in the original, the fight will be different from how it is in the original Naruto series.

Byakugan can see through mist so…Zabuza's not so hidden after all. Sorry…I couldn't help but make a pun. Til next time!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Merry Christmas to all of my wonderful readers! Here is your gift: Zabuza's battle!

NOTE: Unlike in the original material, our ninjas are fighting in the middle of the forest with no river or other source of water nearby. This note will become important further down into this chapter.

**Chapter 8: Battle in the Hidden Mist**

"Ninja Art…Hidden Mist Jutsu" Zabuza says as he disappears completely while a thick mist descends on battle field.

"W-Where'd he go?!" Tazuna worried frantically as he quickly turned his head from side to side. His heart was pounding a mile a minute.

_This mist is getting thicker…_Sasuke began to squint, straining his eyes in an attempt to find the enemy. But he couldn't see a thing besides the shadowy figure of Kakashi Hatake who, although he was not that far in front of them, could only be recognized by his silhouette.

"Everyone, be on your guard." The jonin warned. "This is Zabuza's silent killing technique. He's hiding in the mist, waiting for the right moment to strike. If you aren't careful, you'll pass from this world to the next without even knowing what happened."

All three genin and Tazuna gulped at these words.

Then a deep, spine-chilling voice spoke from out of the mist. "8 Choices…Lungs, Liver, Spine, Clevical, Neck, Brain, Kidneys, Heart. Which one should I go after?" The assassin let out a dark chuckle.

This was starting to feel like a horror movie.

_He'll probably go after me first. _Kakashi strained his Sharingan in an attempt to find his opponent in this chakra-induced mist. At first he saw nothing, as Zabuza's chakra was spread all over the mist. But then he noticed a larger quantity of Zabuza's distinctive chakra gathered in a single area, a few yards away from him. _That must be Zabuza. _The figure was unmoving, standing still. _Is he considering attacking the bridge builder?_ Kakashi continued to keep his Sharingan eye fixated on Zabuza's chakra figure. Not wanting to attack, as he had the disadvantage in this mist, Kakashi simply waited for Zabuza to make his move.

Meanwhile the three genin and the bridge builder were huddled together, almost standing back-to-back. All four of them were filled with fear at the thought of the assassin coming to kill them from out of the mist. Hinata, was trembling the most, so much that she could barely hold up her kunai. The sheer amount of chakra that Zabuza had released in his mist jutsu was much more than she had ever seen anyone else, even her father, unleash at one time.

_So this is what it's like to fight against a jonin, an elite ninja, for real…_Hinata cringed as she could feel the murderous intent of the rouge ninja through the mist. The immense chakra surrounding them made Hinata feel as if she was going to be crushed. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she began to hyperventilate. _What is this terrible power?! I feel like the life is being choked from my body! I don't think I can take this anymore!_

"Hinata!" A high-pitched voice snapped Hinata out of her fearful thoughts.

The Hyuga girl turned her head slowly, in the direction of the voice.

"N-Naruto?" She spoke weakly.

"You don't have to be afraid. We're all here with you, the standing together as team. And we're not going to lose to anyone! Especially not to ninja-trash like this!" The energetic ninja declared as he flashed Hinata one of his trademark grins, causing the Hyuga girl to blush a little.

_Naruto…_

"Sheesh. Some ninja you are."

Hinata turned her head around in direction of the colder, ruder voice.

"You didn't seem half as terrified when you were fighting against the two of us in training. But now that it's the four of us against one guy, you lose your nerve?" Sasuke said teasingly, just after he had finished suppressing his own fears.

Though such words would sound like an insult to anyone else, Hinata couldn't help but smile as she knew that her other teammate was trying to comfort her in his own way.

"They're right, Hinata." A third, more mature, voice added.

"There's nothing that any of you have to be afraid of. I'll protect you all with my life." Kakashi assured them as he turned his head back towards his team bearing a smiling face. "I will not allow my comrades to die."

These words carried warmth and comfort through the mist from Kakashi to his team. For a moment, all their fears completely faded, allowing everyone to calm themselves and relax their overly-tensed nerves. They felt a sense of peace.

However that peaceful calm was quickly shattered as the dark, horror-movie voice returned.

"We'll see about that."

With those words Zabuza materialized from the mist, appearing in the air above Kakashi. The jonin looked up to see the rouge ninja bringing down his colossal decapitator like a hammer, clearly aiming to split him in half. However, Kakashi easily dodged out of the way allowing the large blade to plant itself in the ground. The weight of sword coupled with the power of its wielder's swing, ensured that the giant blade found itself stuck into the ground. Kakashi took the opportunity to stab Zabuza in the abdomen with a kunai.

_Shuk._

The knife landed perfectly in his abdomen.

"I think he got him!" Naruto yelled.

The two jonin were still for a moment. Although Kakashi had successfully stabbed his opponent, something didn't quite feel right. _Why isn't he bleeding?_

Suddenly Kakashi's eyes widened as the solid body in front of him dissolved into a puddle of water._ No way._ The jonin thought as he turned his head, just in time to see the real Zabuza swing his blade in his direction.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Hinata screamed in horror as her sensei was seemingly cut in half from his abdomen.

"What was all that nonsense about protecting your students? I don't think you can do that from the afterlife." Zabuza chuckled darkly, laughing at his deceased opponent. Or so he thought. The all too familiar sound of water splashing, caused the assassin's eyes to widen as he realized that he had sliced a water clone. Since he would not have time to swing his over-sized butcher knife in a defensive way, Zabuza had no choice but to pull out a kunai as he turned around just in time for him to clash with the real Kakashi and his knife.

The two jonin were now standing face to face, each holding their clashing kunai, with neither one giving in.

"Pretty good, copy ninja." Zabuza commended. "I'm actually impressed that you could still copy me in this mist. It seems I've underestimated that eye of yours."

"It'll take a lot more than a little mist to blind the Sharingan." Kakashi stated confidently, despite the fact that he was lying. Even with the Sharingan, the jonin could barely keep up with Zabuza. _It's getting harder to see him with all of this mist. And it doesn't help that I can't use this eye for too long before it begins to take its toll on me. I'm at a severe disadvantage here. I have to find some way to end this battle quickly._

Kakashi was broken out of his thoughts by his opponent's voice. "Hehe. Lucky for you, I didn't jump into this fight completely unprepared. These first attacks were mere test runs."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as Zabuza raised his free hand to his face, forming a hand sign with his index and middle finger up. "Let's try this for real now. Ninja Art…Hidden Mist Jutsu."

The silver-haired jonin's eyes widened as he watched his opponent disappear completely, fading into the mist right before his eys.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Naruto's voice echoed throughout the mist.

Kakashi turned around in Naruto's direction only to find that, to his horror, there was nothing there. The mist was twice as thick as it was before. It looked like Kakashi was a dull-colored picture standing on a grey piece of paper. The air was heavy. Kakashi turned his head from side to side, attempting to stay calm as he struggled to see something, ANYTHING in the mist. Alas, he was completely blinded by the gray haze. Zabuza put even more of his chakra into making the mist thicker, ensuring that Kakashi would no longer be able to distinguish the chakra in Zabuza's body from the chakra in the mist.

"Can you see me now?" Zabuza's voice echoed through the mist, tauntingly.

A drip of sweat found its way down the side of Kakashi's face.

**With the Genin...**

The genin team had tightened their guard around Tazuna, backing up closer to each other as soon as the mist thickened. Sasuke, Naruto and Tazuna all tensed as soon as they realized that they couldn't see anything besides each other, anymore.

"Hey Jonin!" Tazuna called. "Are you still out there?!"

No response.

"That assassin couldn't have killed him, could he?!" The bridge-builder began to tremble like never before, as his heart prepared to leap out of his chest.

"That ninja…Kakashi said he specializes in a silent killing technique…" Sasuke thought aloud, not at all calming anyone's nerves.

"I'm going to take a look..." Hinata said.

"How?" Naruto inquired. "I can't see anything!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he took a glance at his teammates' face, noting the familiar bulging of her veins. "You also have a dojutsu." He stated. "It can help you see through this mist?" He guessed.

"Yes..." Hinata nodded. "I can see Kakashi sensei...he's alright...but Zabuza isn't anywhere near either of us."

**From the top of a high tree, just above the field of mist, Zabuza stands on the highest branch, glaring down at his potential prey, unsure of what his next move will be.**

_Which one should I kill first? Kakashi? Or his students? It'll all be so easy, I guess it doesn't matter which one I go after. Then again, I'd like to have a little fun with this battle before I kill them all._ Zabuza thought as he jumped back down into the mist below.

Serial killer from a slasher-movie mode: activated.

"Zabuza's here!" Hinata alerted her teammates quietly, as soon as the assassin entered her field of vision.

"I know you all must be **dying** for me to make my next move and end your miserable existence already…" Zabuza chuckled as his voice echoed throughout the battle field. "…but I haven't had an entertaining fight like this in a while. So I've decided to play with you all for a little bit longer." The jonin takes out four kunai with paper bombs attached.

"Kakashi…" Zabuza called out in a sadistic tone, gaining the jonin's attention as he continued to stand in the midst of the mist. "…since you made such a lovely speech about protecting your students, I feel it's only fair to kill them first. Wouldn't you agree?"

The genin and Tazuna all gulped.

"No!" Kakashi's yelled, frustrated that he couldn't save his team when he couldn't even find them.

Zabuza let out a dark laugh as he threw the kunai towards the genin, unaware that one of them could see it coming.

"It's a paper bomb! Four of them!" Hinata warned. "Everyone get back!"

Naruto and Sasuke both grab a hold onto the bridge builder's arms as they all jumped back to avoid the kunai bombs which were prepared to detonate. Hinata however, was unable to grab a hold onto anyone in time.

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

The four explosions were set off one after the other. While the four of them had avoided taking the full assault of the attack, they were all still hit pretty badly by the sheer force of the combined explosion which caused all of them to fly high into the air before being slammed onto the ground by gravity.

Because the two male genin had kept their hold onto the bridge builder's arm, the three of them ended up landing next to each other, close enough to where they could still see each other's silhouettes. Hinata on the other hand, was blasted in the opposite direction, being sent flying into a nearby tree, spraining her ankle as she tumbled down through the branches and onto the ground.

A terrible pit fell into Kakashi's stomach as he felt the shockwave of the explosion shake the ground beneath his feet. "Sasuke! Naruto! Hinata! Tazuna!" He called out, desperately attempting to reassure himself that everyone is alright.

"W-we're alive!" Naruto yelled back, calming his sensei's nerves.

"Speak for yourself…" Tazuna grumbled as he scrambled to get back on his feet.

Sasuke stood up, suddenly feeling as if something was missing. He turned his head from one side to the other. With the exception of Naruto and Tazuna, Sasuke saw nothing but gray mist. "Hinata? Where's Hinata?" The Uchiha boy asked.

Copying his earlier motion, Naruto and Tazuna both began to move their heads around as well, attempting to find the female genin somewhere in the vast grayness.

"She must have gotten separated from us in the explosion!" The bridge builder concluded.

"Hinata! Hinata are you alright?!" Naruto called out to her.

No response._._

"Looks like that's one down." Zabuza laughed. "Four more to go."

Seeing the genin as mere pests, the assassin didn't bother to concern himself with whether or not the Hyuga girl was actually dead. And of course, she wasn't.

Hinata was sitting with her back rested against a tree trunk. She was covered in some minor burns, cuts and bruises that she had gained during the explosion and rough landing. Her ankle was sprained and she was in a world of pain. Blood trailed down the side of her head, running over her left eye. It hurt to move, but she knew that she didn't have time to pass out.

_The others can't see in this mist. If I stay down now, who knows what will happen to them. _Despite the pain, she stretched her hand upwards, grabbing onto a lower tree branch for stability, as she pulled her body upwards. Leaning on her non-sprained ankle, she was able to successfully stand up while leaning against the tree. With her byakugan re-activated, Hinata scanned the battlefield in order to see where everyone was located.

Sasuke, Naruto and Tazuna had been blown very far away from her. A few meters at least. She certainly wasn't going to wobble her way over to them in her condition. Hinata prepared to open her mouth to call out to her teammates when she noticed a certain rouge ninja heading their way at a great speed, with his colossal blade being towed behind him. Zabuza seemed like he was getting ready to slice through all of them at once.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Look out! Zabuza's coming straight at you from your left!" She warned, alerting her two teammates.

"Hinata!" Naruto was so relieved to hear his teammate's voice, that he failed to comprehend what she was actually saying.

"Naruto get back!" Sasuke ordered as he stepped in front of his bumbling teammate and elderly client, forming several hand signs in quick succession. He took in a deep breath. "Fire Stye! Fire Ball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted as he released a great ball of fire aimed at the charging Zabuza, whose eyes widened as he was forced to take a few leaps backs to avoid the attack. The assassin's head shot back towards the injured Hyuga girl.

_Impossible! Can she see me?_ Zabuza had to wonder. His eyes narrowed as he stared into the young girl's eyes, seeing the veins protruding from the sides of her face. _Is that some sort of dojutsu?_

Hinata gulped as she suddenly found herself locked in a staring contest with the murderous rouge ninja. Zabuza turned his foot in her direction, preparing to charge at her instead, but he was once again halted as he heard the sound of a few kunai piercing through the air, flying a great speeds to hit their target. Zabuza turned to find ten kunai flying in his direction, though only four actually threatened to hit him. Without a second thought, Zabuza easily pulled up his sword, preparing to use it as a shield against the weaker knives. The first two kunai bounced right off his sword and onto the ground, however he failed to notice the paper bomb attached to the following two kunai until they were activated a mere inch away from hitting his blade.

_KA-BOOM!_

With his nearly indestructible blade taking most of the damage, Zabuza was merely blown back by the rough explosion, though he was still sent flying far away from his enemies.

_Did I get him?_ Kakashi wondered to himself. The jonin had been observing the battle and was able to see a spark of Sasuke's chakra as he performed the fireball jutsu. Taking also into consideration, Hinata's direction of Zabuza's location, Kakashi hoped that his kunai would reach the rouge ninja. Judging by the sound of clanking metal(the kunai hitting Zabuza's sword), the jonin dared to assume that he was successful in blowing away the assassin of the hidden mist.

Seeing Zabuza fall on his back and slide further and further away from her, the Hyuga girl sighed in relief.

"Hinata?" Kakashi called out.

"I'm over here sensei." Hinata responded, as she just realized that her sensei was only standing a few feet away from her. It only took Kakashi a few seconds before he found his student leaning against a tree. He was relieved to finally be able to see something other than mist. Upon overlooking the young genin, the jonin quickly discerned that something was amiss.

"I…I…hurt my leg." Hinata spoke before her sensei could even ask what was wrong.

"So you can't walk then?" Kakashi stated more than asked. Hinata shook her head 'no'.

The jonin released a deep breath as he closed his eyes. He began to analyze the situation. _We're up against a rouge ninja of the highest level. My Sharingan can't find Zabuza in this mist. Naruto, Sasuke and Tazuna are all blind. Hinata is the only one who can see, and she's unable to fight. My chakra reserves are being sucked dry by this eye of mine. And yet, I'd be at a greater disadvantage if I stopped using it._ _On the other hand…I can still locate Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata with the Sharingan, if they exert enough chakra to be able to pierce through this mist. Hinata may be injured, but she can still use her Byakugan to aid in this fight. Sasuke and Naruto also have plenty of chakra left as well. Not to mention…Zabuza must be hitting his limit pretty soon. Creating such a thick mist from his chakra alone, without the aid of an external water source…such an act may help him to better blind the Sharingan, but it definitely takes a greater toll on his own energy. _Another few moments of silence passed by, with the Jonin deep in his own thoughts.

"Kakashi sensei?" Hinata tilted her head as she gazed upon the silver-haired jonin, who finally opened his eyes to face his younger student.

"I have a plan here." He said. "But I'm going to need your help to carry this out."

Kakashi turned his back to Hinata and kneeled on the ground. "Hop on." He ordered.

"What?" The genin blinked as she stared blankly at her sensei.

"I'm going to need you to work as my set of eyes for this plan. You're the only person who can see clearly though this mist, I can't afford to leave you out here in the open for Zabuza to try and kill you." Kakashi explained.

Hinata climbed onto her sensei's back, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. After she was secured, Kakashi rose to his feet once again taking a moment to adjust to the extra 90 pounds. Times like this made the jonin glad that he had built up some muscle while training with his old rival back in the day.

"Zabuza's getting up!" Hinata alerted her sensei.

"Can you point me over towards Naruto and the other two?" Kakashi requested.

"Over there!" Hinata pointed over towards the far left. The jonin sped off in the direction of the Hyuga's finger. Easily closing the large gap between them and the rest of the group in no time.

"Kakashi sensei?!" Naruto yelled excitedly as he was glad to see his sensei alive.

"I thought you were dead for a minute there!" Tazuna stated.

"I managed to knock Zabuza off his feet. But that the attack wasn't strong enough to end him." Kakashi said. "With this mist, going, I can't completely fight on my own! I'm going to need you all to cooperate with each other. It's time to put that teamwork we practiced into action!"

**With Zabuza...**

The rouge ninja cracked his neck as he rose to the ground. _Well that was an unpleasant surprise. It seems that the copy ninja's Sharingan isn't the only eye that I have to worry about. Somehow that brat was able to see me. _Zabuza remembered how the young girl had looked him straight in the eyes as they stared at each other. Her white eyes clashed with his brownish-black ones. _There's no way that could have been a coincidence. Somehow that brat saw me._

"MULTI-SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" A high pitched voice shouted, jerking Zabuza from out of his thoughts.

The entire battlefield was suddenly filled with multiple, blonde kids in orange suits. They all encircled Zabuza, ready to charge at the given signal.

_Shadow clones huh? And a large amount too…_ The assassin placed his hand on his swords holder, preparing to take them all on at once.

"ULTIMATE UZUMAKI DOG PILE!" The real Naruto shouted as he remained by Tazuna, signaling for all the Naruto clones to leap into the air, each of them preparing to body slam Zabuza.

"Not good enough!" The rouge ninja mocked as he swung his colossal butcher knife around, slicing through each of the Naruto clones with ease.

"Is this the best you got?" Zabuza taunted as he demolished each and every Naruto clone in sight.

"You wish!" One clone yelled as he threw a kunai at Zabuza's head, as hard as he could.

"Please." The assassin raised his blade to block the kunai.

_KLANK!_

The kunai made a loud sound as it bounced of the steel of Zabuza's blade. To the rouge ninja, the attack was minor, but to one particular Naruto clone, the sound of the two metals clashing was a beacon. Being able to discern his location by sound, the one clone charged towards Zabuza forming several hand seals as he ran.

"Another one?" Zabuza swung his mighty blade with the intention of cutting the clone down, however the one spare clone that had thrown the kunai had jumped in the way, shielding the other clone with his body. "What's this?" If Zabuza had any eyebrows, they'd be raised by now.

He watched in shock as the blonde haired clone turned into a black haired kid who had just taken a deep breath. "Fire style, Fire ball jutsu!"

_This kid again!_ Zabuza quickly used his water clone technique, forcing his clone to take the hit while Zabuza appeared behind Sasuke, preparing to cut him down for real this time! The black haired kid could only widen his eyes before he found himself sliced in half from his abdomen.

The assassin chuckled darkly, but once again, he relaxed too soon. His smug facial expression quickly changed back to one of shock as he realized that he had sliced nothing more than a wooden log. _A substitution jutsu?!_

_Good work!_ Kakashi mentally commended his two students, as he slid behind the assassin wielding a kunai knife in one hand.

Zabuza abandoned his blade, knowing that he did not have time to swing it in defense. In the blink of an eye, he pulled a kunai of his own out and once again was clashing knives with the silver-haired jonin.

"Still as fast as ever, I see. Though still not fast enough." The rouge ninja's eyes shifted over towards the Hyuga girl, who was latched on to her sensei's back. "Looks like you've put on a few pounds."

Hinata tried to maintain her composure as she stared into Zabuza's murderous eyes once again.

"I guess I was a little careless…I didn't think that I'd be fighting two dojutsu here." The assassin continued.

"Your mistake was underestimating my team. And that mistake will be your last!" Kakashi declared, making the rouge ninja laugh.

"Ha! Even with those eyes, you won't be able to beat me! How long do you think that kid can hold up?! Really! It's pathetic that you have to fight while giving a brat a piggy back ride." Zabuza taunted as he began to overpower Kakashi. "This is the end for you!" With those last words, Zabuza managed to swat the kunai out of Kakashi's hand and onto the ground. He laughed triumphantly as he pulled back his knife, preparing to stab the now defenseless leaf jonin. "This is it for you!"

"Now!" Kakashi shouted as he charged toward Zabuza, unarmed.

"At the center of his right arm! An inch above his belly button! Just above his second left rib!" Hinata spoke as quickly and clearly as she could.

With two fingers focused full of chakra, Kakashi quickly moved to strike the three areas listed by Hinata, releasing some of his chakra into Zabuza's body as he poked each point. These quick movements caused Zabuza to take a step back, out of reflex. However the rouge ninja's expression changed quickly as he realized that he did not have a scratch on him.

"What was THAT?!" He mocked. "Are you really so desperate that THAT'S the best you can do?! A little tap?" Zabuza laughed some more.

"If I were you…" Kakashi warned. "I'd pay a little more attention to what's around you."

With these words Zabuza's eyes suddenly widened in horror as he realized that the battle scene had changed. His mist had completely disappeared from the area. Naruto and Sasuke were standing in front of Tazuna who they had hid in a distant bush, while Zabuza and Kakashi stood parallel to one another, with Hinata still on her sensei's back. It was midday now and the sun was shining brightly down on this forest green battle field.

"Finally! I can see again!" Naruto exclaimed, having become tired of staring at nothing but gray mist for so long.

"B-But how?!" Zabuza demanded to know.

"I told you…underestimating my team is a fatal mistake." Kakashi responded vaguely, as he allowed Hinata to slip down onto the ground softly.

Zabuza took a step backwards, unsure of how to continue this battle. He immediately attempted to reach back for his sword, but was quickly caught with a knife to his throat, by the silver haired jonin.

"It's over." Kakashi spoke in such a cold, spine-chilling tone.

Suddenly from the trees lashed out two senbon, which quickly found themselves embedded in Zabuza's neck, causing him to drop dead onto the ground, face first.

Everyone's eyes widened at this sudden turn of events. Kakashi looked up in the direction that the senbon had come from to see a young, masked boy standing on top of a tree branch. _A kid?_ The jonin narrowed his eyes as bent down to feel Zabuza's pulse, while Naruto, Tazuna and Sasuke all ran over towards their jonin and injured teammate.

Zabuza's heart stopped.

"He's dead." Kakashi stated flatly, somewhat disappointed.

"But…how?" Tazuna inquired, though he was honestly just glad that his assassin was dead.

Everyone attention was directed towards the masked stranger who had leaped down from the top of the tree, landing in front of the group of foreign ninja.

"Forgive my intrusion. It did look like you were having such an interesting battle. However…I cannot allow you to be the ones to kill Zabuza. That's MY job." The boy spoke in a polite, yet serious tone.

"What?! Who do you think YOU are!? Coming in here and just…gah!" Naruto began to roll up his sleeves, preparing to start a fight with the masked boy, but he was stopped by Kakashi who put his hand in front of his student. "Naruto, calm yourself. He isn't our enemy." The jonin said calmly.

"I am a tracker ninja from the village hidden in the mist. I was sent on a mission to hunt down and kill this rouge ninja known as Zabuza Momochi." The boy bowed. "I really must thank you all. I've been trying to kill him off for months, but he always finds a way to evade me. However, with your battle against him being successful, I was able to finally eliminate him."

_Judging from his build, height and voice…This kid is no older than Naruto. Yet he's a tracker ninja…interesting._ Kakashi continued to observe the mysterious ninja as he picked up the much larger body, throwing Zabuza's corpse over his shoulder with ease.

"Well then…if you'll excuse me." Were the boy's last words as he disappeared within a flurry of leaves and wind.

"H-HEY!" Naruto shouted as he attempted to run after the masked boy, in vain of course.

Kakashi placed his mask back over his sharingan eye, adjusting his headband as well. "Well at least that's over." He sighed.

"It's over?! But…but…how did he…Zabuza was so strong! How did that kid…that BRAT just come in and…GAH! I DON'T ACCEPT THIS AT ALL!" Naruto began clawing at his own hair in frustration, mussing it up even further.

"Age doesn't matter in the ninja world. After all, there are some kids who are younger than you, yet stronger than me." Kakashi returned to speaking in his usual nonchalant tone, as he playfully ruffled his blonde headed genin's hair, causing the boy to pout.

_We all survived in the end…thank God…_Hinata smiled as she released a deep breath, finally allowing herself to pass out on to the ground.

"Hinata?!" Naruto shouted.

"It seems like she took the full brunt of Zabuza's explosion. Also…using the Byakugan for so long might have taken a toll on her body as well…" Kakashi began to trail off before he too found himself plopping on to the ground, face first.

"NOT YOU TOO!"

"It seems like I may have overused my sharingan…" Kakashi mumbled under his breath as his face remained buried in the grass.

"Here, here." Tazuna called out to the ninja, having walked a head of them somewhat. "The docks are only a little ways away. If we keep going we'll be at my house in no time. Your ninja can rest there."

Sasuke picked up the unconscious Hyuga girl, bridal style, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder. "I'll carry this one. You can carry Kakashi." The Uchiha boy stated bluntly, leaving his fellow teammate no choice.

"HUH?! Why do I have to do it?!" He whined. "Why don't you carry Kakashi?!"

"Well...if you're too weak to do it…" Sasuke taunted, knowing that Naruto would take the bait.

"YEAH RIGHT!" Naruto shouted as he created two clones to help him lift up his heavy sensei.

_It looks like these ninja are the real deal._ Tazuna thought as he smiled at the four ninja. _I might really have a fighting chance here…_

A/N: Well that is it for this battle! I hope you enjoyed Kakashi using gentle fist! I am really happy with how this chapter turned out.

Anyways: God bless your holidays! And keep on the lookout for more chapters!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: What up people. Last night I had this awesome idea! I was thinking a little more about the teams that I have set up in Hinata-Sama and I was wondering "hm…maybe I should explain a little more about why I didn't just switch Sakura and Hinata for the teams." Because I didn't just jumble the teams up for fun(well, it was sort of fun, but there were other reasons too). And although we won't be seeing the other teams until the Chunin exams, I've been itching to write about this.

And so I bring you to…the first Filler Chapter of Hinata-Sama.

NOTE: I will not have a lot of filler chapters within this series. I will only make these chapters to explain something in the series that I felt may have not been very clear in the story. Also if you have any questions about certain aspects of the story, you can leave comments(I do read them) and I may make another quick filler chapter to answer said questions. For me these types of chapters do not really delay the actual story chapters because they are so quick and easy to write. Also, I write them on days that I usually wouldn't be working on Hinata-Sama anyway.

**Chapter 9: Filler to Explain Teams**

Each team has a genius, a sensor and wild card(which can be anything)

**Kakashi's Team: Naruto-Hinata-Sasuke**

**Hinata**-I think Hinata would benefit the most from being on a team with Naruto and Sasuke. The main reason is that she could learn to be more confident and assured of herself. Naruto would be the person who gives her a lot of confidence while Sasuke would be the person to encourage her to be more independent, so that she wouldn't rely so heavily on Naruto's encouragement. Sasuke would also make a great sparring partner for Hinata because, like Neji(who becomes her sparring partner in the series), he wouldn't hold back on her and she would get a chance to genuinely grow in strength. So she would gain emotional strength from Naruto and physical strength and independence from Sasuke. And as for Kakashi, I see him as being a normal-ish kind of father figure towards Hinata, who actually cares for her, even more than her own dad. Also, I think it makes more sense for Hinata to be trained by Tsunade, because it feels like she'd be the best medical ninja candidate out of all the Naruto girls. Tsunade says that medical ninja require great chakra control, which Hinata obviously has because she had been trained in the gentle fist from the age of 3, meaning she has been learned how to focus her chakra to certain areas of her body. Also, the gentle fist already has healing purposes(as seen during the Fourth Great Ninja War when Hinata relocated Naruto's shoulder). ALSO, Hinata has the Byakugan, which seems like it would be useful for a medical ninja to more easily identify problems within the human body. Plus Hinata would learn to have a little more back-bone in training with Tsunade.

As for Sasuke, I feel like he'd definitely benefit, personality wise, from having such an absolutely sweetheart on his team. Hinata's the type of character that is ridiculously nice and overly forgiving, while she may get upset sometimes, she easily forgives people for the crap they do. Sasuke would learn to become a slightly nicer person from Hinata and the two of them may also be able to relate to each other as they both had strict fathers that they went out of their way to please and they also both come from prestigious clans with powerful kekkei genkai.

I feel like Hinata, Naruto and Sasuke would all be able to connect with each other on a deeper level based on their pasts and backgrounds, forming deep bonds with each other. Hinata and Naruto were both deemed failures. Sasuke and Naruto are both lonely orphans. Sasuke and Hinata both had strict fathers and came from prestigious clans. So yeah, they all have something that they can relate to each other about.

**Kurenai's Team: Sakura-Kiba-Choji**

**Sakura**-Now something that always bothered me in the Naruto series, is Sakura's unexplored abilities. Now we know that Sakura is smart and has excellent chakra control and we've seen her learn medical ninjutsu and super strength with it. My question though is, why? Doesn't this seem a bit random? Especially when it has been constantly stated in the manga and anime(more so in the beginning of Naruto) that Sakura is the GENJUTSU type. So what's with all this ninjutsu? We've never seen Sakura once use genjutsu, so why did Masashi even bother to put in that little part about Sakura, but then never explore it? Well, I plan to do some exploring with Sakura's true talents. As a genjutsu type, it only makes sense that her sensei be Kurenai, a master genjutsu user. Think of all the skills she could learn.

As for Kiba, I feel like he is one of the few male genin who doesn't really fear the wrath of Sakura or Ino, or any other girl for that matter. Probably because they have nothing on his terrifying mother. So I feel like he wouldn't be intimidated when dealing with Sakura when she's angry or whatever. Plus, I'd say that Kiba is pretty hot-blooded and I could just see him and Sakura always arguing with each other over the smallest things. Both are ridiculously stubborn, and have a relationship similar to Sakura and Ino's. However, at the end of the day, they are good friends and have each other's backs on the battlefield.

Choji, is sort of like the only peaceful one here(until you call him fat). He's kind of a sweet heart and I think his personality would grow on Sakura, and being that the two of them were both teased about their appearance(him about his weight and Sakura about her forehead), he could help her learn to become confident in how she looks and more comfortable with who she is. Also I can sooo imagine Choji and Akamaru getting into a scrap over the last potato chip in the bag.

Overall, this is Konoha's hot-blooded team of passion. Sakura is the brains and tactical genius of this group, Kiba is the sensor and an overall well rounded fighter, and Choji is the pure muscle. I imagine their team strategies would include Sakura trapping the enemy with genjutsu while Kiba and Choji use Fang over Fang and Human boulder(respectively) to K.O. the enemy.

**Asuma's team: Ino-Shika-Shi**

I kind of like the way their team name sounds(Ino-Shika-Shi sounds just as good as Ino-Shika-Cho), which a big reason why I put them together. I didn't really think too hard about this team, and they were kind of what was left over, but I did find that I enjoyed finding out ways for this team to work. I'm still keeping the whole family-ties thing with this group. And I think this grouping does make sense. Especially with Shino and Ino. Just think, the flower shop owning clan together with the insect clan? Bugs and Flowers, get it? They just seemed to go together.

I think of these three as the tactical team. Shikamaru is the genius, Ino is the team spirit, and Shino is the team sensor. I feel like out of all the teams, that this team would get along with each other the easiest. The three of them don't really have too many sources of conflict, besides Shikamaru's laziness, but other than that, the three of them would probably get along well and have a mutual understanding of each other.

**Final Words:**

Well that's all folks. I hope you enjoyed this little explanation, I hope that clears a few things up for you. I hope you enjoy this pre-new years' treat. The next chapter(we're going back into the story!) will be up hopefully between the dates of 12/29/14 and 1/2/15. Until then! Bye!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Happy New Year! Enjoy the First Hinata-Sama Chapter of the Year! This chapter is late because my computer decided that it didn't feel like connecting to the internet, sooo…sorry about that.

Chapter 10: Rest and Recovery

A few hours after their grand battle with the hidden mist assassin, Team 7 finally arrive at Tazuna's house. In the guest bedroom, which was previously an empty space with only a window and door leading into the hallway, Kakashi is laying down comfortably in his green sleeping bag on the floor. Sasuke is leaning on the window frame, staring out into the ocean while Naruto is using his rolled up sleeping bag as a pillow for him to nap on. Hinata, now conscious, is sitting up on a wooden chair as the bridge builder's daughter, Tsunami, bandages her ankle.

"There we go." The older woman says as she finishes up. "I'm no doctor…but it doesn't seem like your ankle is hurt too badly. You should be fine with a little rest."

"T-Thank you very much, Miss Tsunami." The Hyuga girl bowed her head towards the older woman, who simply responded with a smile.

"No, thank you all for getting my father back home safely. This is the least I could do for you."

Tsunami then turns her body to face the silver haired jonin who was lying motionless in his sleeping bag. "And what did you say was wrong with you again?"

"No need to worry about me. I'm just worn out from over using my Sharingan. Just give me a few days to rest and I'll be as good as new." He assured the woman, making an eye expression that suggested that he was attempting to give her a weak smile.

"If you say so…" The woman shrugged. She turned towards the door. "I'm going to check on my father again. I'll call you all when dinner is ready." And with those words the woman exited the room, closing the sliding door behind her.

Kakashi took a deep breath, relaxing all of the aching muscles in his body. After such a long and difficult day, he'd finally be able to get to some rest and sleep peacefully.

"Hey, Kakashi Sensei."

So much for that thought. The jonin groaned as he unwillingly turned his head to face the dismal owner of the voice. "What is it Sasuke?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you…I have a couple of things to ask you, actually." He said as he sat down next to his sensei's sleeping bag.

If he had the energy, Kakashi would have widened his eye a little, in shock. Instead he just slightly raised his eyebrow. _Well isn't this something? Sasuke isn't usually the inquisitive type._ "Alright, shoot."

"There's two main things I want to know…" The Uchiha boy stated, getting straight to the point. "First, I want to know the story behind that Sharingan of yours. As far as I can tell, you aren't a member of the Uchiha clan. Yet somehow you have it." There were many things that bothered Sasuke about Kakashi's eye. The most annoying was the fact that this non-Uchiha somehow possessed and was able to fully use the Sharingan while he himself, a pure-blooded Uchiha, was STILL unable to even unlock his own sharingan.

"Well…" Kakashi closed his eye for a moment, pondering whether or not he felt like telling a story. After a few seconds of leaving the boy in silence, the jonin reopened his eye as he responded. "This eye…was a gift from one of my friends in the Uchiha clan. It's a momento."

_A gift from a friend?_ Sasuke raised a single eyebrow as he began to wonder if he had ever seen any one-eyed relatives before the massacre. _Who did this guy know in my clan? I've never seen him hanging around our compound before._

"Ahem." The jonin coughed to break Sasuke from his thoughts. "What was that second thing you wanted to know?" Kakashi wanted to change the subject. He didn't feel like going into the history behind his Sharingan, he never did like thinking about how he had received it. It brought up bad memories. Hopefully, the Uchiha boy wouldn't ask for any more information.

"Well…" Sasuke took a moment to think of how to phrase his question. Subconsciously, the boy's black eyes found themselves slowly drifting off to the side. Kakashi followed his students gaze and found himself staring at one blue-haired, Hyuga girl who was using her Byakugan to examine her ankle.

The older man raised an eyebrow as he turned his head to face Sasuke again. "Is there something you want to know about Hinata?"

Forcing his eyes off of the Hyuga girl, Sasuke returned Kakashi's question with a silent stare, confirming his sensei's assumption.

"Not that I don't like talking to you, Sasuke…" Kakashi spoke sarcastically. "…but if you have a question about a teammate, why not ask her yourself?"

"It's not that simple." Sasuke lied. In reality, his pride was still a little hurt from their training session. "I…don't feel like talking to her right now." he mumbled as his eyes left his sensei's face once again.

Suddenly feeling the desire to annoy the Uchiha boy, the jonin decided to have a little fun at his student's expense. "Ohh, I get it. You must want dating advice." He teased.

"Drop dead."

"Well then…If that's not it, then what's bothering you about Hinata?" He inquired

"It's what you said the other day…when we all were fighting against each other." Sasuke looked back down towards Kakashi. "I've tried to figure out what happened…I tried to come up with some explanation, but I just don't know what could have happened. But you seemed to know something, so I'm asking you. How exactly did I lose all of my chakra without using it? What does the Byakugan do and how does it work? And why does Hinata fight the way she does?"

_He's really inquisitive today…_The jonin thought as he took a moment to process all of his student's questions. Apparently, he didn't respond fast enough.

"Are you going to answer or what?" The impatient boy asked.

"Calm down, I was just thinking about a few things." Kakashi replied. "I actually had planned to explain more about Hinata to you and Naruto this morning. But we were cut off by Zabuza, so it kind of slipped my mind."

"So tell me now. The idiot can wait to hear it whenever he wakes up."

"Impatient boy indeed." he sighed. "I suppose I could tell Naruto later. I doubt you'll leave me alone until I give you some information anyways."

Sasuke nodded as he folded his arms across his chest, confirming his sensei's words.

"Now what should I start with? I guess I should begin explaining the Byakugan. Like the sharingan, the Byakugan is considered one of the three great dojutsu. It is famously known as the 'all-seeing' eye as it grants its user 360 degrees of vision within a 50 meter field, which can be expanded through training. The Byakugan gives the user…something along the lines of x-ray vision as well, those eyes can see through solid mass of all kinds. But its most powerful ability is its ability to see a person's chakra system."

"Like the Sharingan?" The boy wondered.

"No, the Sharingan can only see a person's overall chakra flow. But the Byakugan can see much more than that. Not only can it see the Chakra within a person's body, but the users can see clearly into a person's chakra network. This allows the users to see through things like genjutsu and certain illusionary techniques. But most importantly, the users are able to use their ability to see the chakra network to apply their signature fighting style, the Gentle Fist." Kakashi paused for a moment to catch his breath. "As you may have realized, Hinata fights with her palms open and when she strikes she barely touches you, yet you feel a strange sensation. Is that right?"

Sasuke nodded.

"This is because gentle fist users focus their energy into their hands, and by inserting a small amount of their own chakra into your body, at the right points, they are able to block your tenketsu(chakra points) and halt your chakra flow altogether."

"Block my chakra points?" Sasuke repeated as his eyes narrowed. _Now I get it…that's why my body felt so numb earlier…_ The Uchiha boy recalled his battle with the Hyuga girl, the night before. Her blows were so light, yet he could feel his energy being drained with each hit she landed. Sasuke began to tense as he felt his pride take another blow from just remembering the fight.

"Also...you should know..." Kakashi resumed talking, regaining Sasuke's attention. "If you are ever locked in battle with a gentle fist user, and you are unable to use ninjutsu, genjutsu, or any type of weapon, then you should give up the fight or run away immediately."

"What?" The prideful boy scoffed at the very idea of him ever fleeing from a battle.

"It may seem like cowardice, but staying to fight in hand-to-hand combat against a gentle fist user is never a good idea. Not just because they can drain your chakra…but because they can kill you in a single, well-placed blow." Kakashi's voice suddenly became serious.

Sasuke's eyes widened at his sensei's last words.

"I meant to let you know about this earlier, but you made the mistake of trying to take Hinata on in close-range combat. In a real fight, that mistake could have cost you your life. The tenketsu and chakra network are closely intertwined with your internal organs. If one tenketsu is hit, any nearby organs will take some damage as well. For example, if Hinata had aimed for a tenketsu in your chest, she could have damaged your heart. Or, if Hinata had been a different kind of person, she could have simply attacked your vitals directly and could have caused serious damage to your body or even kill you. Such an incident could have easily happened on accident as well. Remember what happened when she accidently hit Naruto during the demon brother's attack?"

Images of Naruto coughing up blood after being palmed so lightly in the stomach, filled the Uchiha boy's head. _Even though that strike didn't look like it was that big of a deal...no doubt she must have hit something dangerous. _Sasuke glanced over towards the Hyuga girl with a bit of sweat dripping down the side of his face as his mind finished processing the fatal truth behind those eyes of hers. _She could have seriously killed me back then. I never would have thought that such a quiet girl...could be this dangerous. _Sasuke felt a hint of fear and respect arise towards the usually kind and meek Hyuga girl.

**Meanwhile in the middle of the forest, not too far off, Zabuza Momochi finds himself alive and well after awakening from his temporary death-state, listening to Haku explain to him, how he had lost his fight against Team 7.**

"The Gentle Fist, huh?" Zabuza grunted as he struggled to lift his body from off the forest floor.

"It's considered to be the most lethal type of taijutsu known in the ninja world." The masked boy explained while Zabuza began pulling the senbon from his neck. "That genin is of the Hyuga clan. She possess the Byakugan, the all-seeing eye. Not only was she able to see through your mist, but she was also able to guide her teammates during battle and tell the copy ninja where to strike your tenketsu."

"_At the center of his right arm! An inch above his belly button! Just above his second left rib!"_

Zabuza growled as he flashed back to his battle with team 7, remembering how he had been so quick to disregard Kakashi's light handed strikes. _How could I have been so foolish?! I should have killed them back when I had the upper hand…then again…it may not have made a difference…I still wouldn't have known about the Byakugan._

Sensing his superior's fury and frustration, Haku decided to take it upon himself to continue speaking. "Zabuza…if you don't mind me saying this…I think that I should be the one to handle the Hyuga child…"

These words snapped the rouge ninja out of his thoughts as he turned his head to glare at the masked boy. "What did you say?"

Despite the dark glare in Zabuza's eyes, Haku was not terrified in the slightest as he continued to speak. "I know that you are going to fight those ninja again. And while I have faith in your strength, I believe that I am better equipped to handle the Byakugan on my own, since I specialize in long range fighting. And without the girl's interferance, you will be able to take down the other three ninja and the old man, more easily."

"Hmm…" The assassin continued to glare at the young, masked boy before him. Taking a moment to consider his words. Although he hated to admit it, the young 14-year old was likely smarter than Zabuza himself. The boy had his own natural intelligence coupled with years of battle experience. After thinking about what Haku said for a few moments, Zabuza finally sighed as he responded, "very well. The next time we face those ninja, I'm leaving that Hyuga to you."

_And I'll be handling the copy ninja myself. _Zabuza looked down at the palms of his opened hands. _I'll make sure his death is slow and painful. _Against his body's wishes, the assassin attempted to stand, only to be knocked back down by the sudden rush of pain that shot up through his entire body. He grunted as the back of his head hit the grassy, forest floor.

"It'll be about three weeks before you can fully recover." Haku stated in a voice that was completely devoid of any sympathy. "That chakra block hinders the healing process, and I think you've taken some light internal damage as well. It seems as if the copy ninja was hoping to do more than halt your chakra flow. He nicked a couple vital organs. Though it's nothing to be too concerned about."

"That's not good." Zabuza groaned.

After observing the older man's injuries, Haku nodded to himself, having made a decision on something. With one hand he slipped off the old anbu mask, setting it down in front of him, and then he began to tug at the ties in his hair, allowing his brown locks to freely fall down to his back.

"What are you doing?" The assassin inquired as he turned his head towards the boy.

"I'm going into town to buy a few things to help with your pain, since it doesn't look like you'll be able to move properly for a few days." The young boy replied, as he shed his navy blue and dark green ninja outfit, revealing a no sleeve, pink kimono underneath. "I'll be back in a day or two. Try not to die before then, okay?" He teased.

"Hmph" Was Zabuza's response as he narrowed his eyes at Haku's choice in clothing. "Ever think about getting a different kimono? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a little girl."

"A ninja must be able to hide their presence and blend into their surroundings. I can't very well walk around in a ninja suit and a mask without drawing attention to myself. Remember…those tracker ninja who are after us…are looking for two males." Haku explained. "They'd easily overlook me, if I walk around like this."

"Sounds like an excuse to play dress up to me." He mocked.

"Fine." Haku sighed. "If you really hate this dress that much…then I'll try to find a more masculine colored-kimono."

"Like I care what you do." Zabuza closed his eyes, pretending to fall asleep.

Haku flashed a smile at the injured man before he began walking away, whispering a light "Be safe" as he disappeared into the forest.

**The sun had long set back at Tazuna's House. The stars were out filling the sky with lights. Tsunami has just finished cooking dinner for six and was currently setting the table as her guests began to take their seats.**

"You know if you all really aren't doing so well, you could have stayed in the other room. I could have just brought you, your food." Tsunami said as she set down a bowl of rice and a small plate of grilled fish in front of the silver-haired jonin.

"No thanks. We wouldn't want to be troublesome." Kakashi replied._ I'm not really injured to begin with technically._

Tsunami turned her head towards the blue-haired Hyuga girl sitting on the long side of the table. "But what about you? Your ankle was hurt badly, wasn't it?" Her motherly instincts were clearly kicking in as she saw the 12-year-old hop over towards her chair.

Hinata shook her head as she took her seat. "I-I took a look at it. I only have a minor sprain, it should heal fine as long as I rest for a few days." She flashed a weak smile at the older woman, who simply responded with a look of concern as she continued to set the table.

"I can't wait to eat! Believe it!" Naruto plopped down next to Hinata with his chopsticks already in hand. Tsunami giggled a little at the eager young boy as she set down a plate in front of him.

"Still as loud as ever I see…" a familiar voice groaned.

Everyone looked back to see their favorite client stumble into the room with his handy-dandy sake bottle and his cheeks flushed red from the booze.

"FATHER!" Tsunami yelled as she set down the last plate of food in front of Sasuke before stomping over to her elderly father, snatching away his bottle.

"H-hey!" Tazuna whined.

"I thought I told you to quit drinking! Forget about assassins, this stuff will kill you before they even get the chance!" Tsunami walked over to the open window, and then tossed the bottle out into the sea.

"Kids…" Tazuna grumbled under his breath as he plopped down at the table. "Spent my life sacrificing for my only daughter and this is how she treats me in my elderly years." He shook his head.

Tsunami responded to her father's complaints with a simple 'hmph' as she exited the room.

"I see you're back to normal old man." Naruto muttered as he pinched his nose, not able to take the smell of booze, wafting from his breath.

The older man simply shrugged in response. "I had to find some way to calm my nerves. I nearly had a heart attack earlier. When that last assassin attacked us, I truly began to think that I wasn't going to make it home."

"Hmph! I don't see why you were so scared!" Naruto smirked as he pointed to his chest with his thumb. "Didn't I tell you who I am?! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the greatest ninja in the hidden leaf village, and the kid who's gonna be the next Hokage! There was no way that I couldn't handle that Zabuza freak! If he got anywhere near ya, I would have EASILY crushed him!"

_There he goes…_Kakashi closed his eye in a smiling manner.

_Oh Naruto…_Hinata giggled to herself.

The bridge builder chuckled out loud. "I don't know about all that, kid. But…I guess you lot did do a decent job in saving my neck today so...thanks." The old man grinned.

Naruto returned his words with a grin of his own. "Bout time I got some appreciation!"

"Don't get cocky Naruto…remember, our job isn't done until AFTER Tazuna is finished building the bridge." Kakashi reminded his hyper active student, causing the prideful boy to slouch down in his seat with a pout on his face.

"That's right…don't go getting ahead of yerself kid." Tazuna added.

Naruto's pout deepened.

_He's so…cute..._ Hinata's cheeks blushed red as she observed her childhood crush pout like a child. "I-I…I think that…y-you're pretty awesome…N-Naruto…" She said with a bright smile on her face.

A few kind words were all it took for Naruto's grin to revive. Without warning the blonde haired boy wrapped his arm around his teammate's shoulder, pulling her into a half-hug. "Aww…Thanks Hinata!" He turned his head towards the bridge builder. "At least someone appreciates true awesomeness!"

Hinata's face burned completely red as she felt her cheeks touch Naruto's. _N-naruto is…so close to my face! Whatever you do, Hinata, don't pass out. DON'T PASS OUT! _Alas, these words seemed to be in vain, as Hinata could feel her consciousness slipping.

Sasuke glared at his blonde and blue haired teammates' little display, with an eye-twitching look of irritation. _Oh yeah, complement the loser, but don't even bother to thank the guy who carried your extra 90 pounds all the way here. _Sasuke rolled his eyes before forcing them downward to stare at his food.

Kakashi's eye shifted back from one side of the table to the other, observing his genins' faces and emotions. _What an interesting group indeed._ The jonin thought as he closed his eye in smiling manner.

"Ah, to be young again." Tazuna chuckled, having done a bit of observation himself.

"Alright! Time to eat!" Naruto yelled as he dropped his arms from Hinata's shoulder, releasing her from their blissful hug.

A little disappointed, the Hyuga girl returned to sitting normally in her own chair as she prepared to eat her own food.

At this time, Tsunami entered the room quietly, sitting herself down next to the Uchiha with a sober look on her face.

"Where'd you run off too?" The bridge builder questioned as he raised an eyebrow of suspicion.

"Oh I just went to call Shizuka...I wanted to make sure that Inari had everything he needed." Tsunami sighed, a hint of sadness making itself known in her tone as she looked down towards her food.

"Inari?" Kakashi inquired.

"He's my son. He's going on a trip…for a couple of weeks…" The young mother explained. "You see…with all of the attempts on my father's life, I've become worried for Inari's safety. So when a close friend of mine and her family decided to leave the village…I asked her to take my son with her, just in case…" her voice trailed off.

"In case Gato ever tried to take him hostage or kill him." Kakashi finished, causing the room to become dead silent as everyone stopped eating.

"R-right…" She replied in whisper. Tsunami's eyes began to tear up as she was once again reminded of their dark situation: her village was poor, she was barely getting by, her father was being targeted by a rich and powerful man, her own life was at risk, she's already lost two husbands to this vicious tyrant, and now her son is gone and she isn't even sure if she's going to be able to see him again. Each thought was like a blow to her heart. Boiling hot tears began streaming down Tsunami's cheeks, as she turned to face the ninja at the end of the table. These strange ninja, who weren't even from this land and aren't even affected by this land's problems, were their last hope. Three children and a young adult…these were the people who held everyone's lives in their hands.

Standing up from her seat, Tsunami walked over towards Kakashi with her tears still streaming down her face. Still sitting down, Kakashi was forced to look up in order to face the crying woman in front of him. He stiffened a bit, as she appeared to be furious and ready to pounce. However, she surprised the jonin by softening her face as she dropped down to her hands and knees.

With her forehead touching the wooden floor and her hair joining in on the ground, Tsunami begin to speak through her sorrowful tears. "Me…and my father…and everyone else here…we've suffered…soo much since Gato arrived. This town has gone to ruin…so many people have given up. But…even in this darkness…there is one light of hope that we all still cling to…the bridge…the bridge that my father is building…the father that you all are protecting with your very lives. I know that this isn't your land…that this isn't your problem…but please…please…protect my father…please help bring back our peaceful lives!"

"Tsunami…" Tazuna looked at his daughter with a saddened expression on his face.

After a few seconds, Kakashi got out of his seat and kneeled down next to Tsunami, placing a single hand on her shoulder. "Ma'am, get up." He ordered in a soft voice. "This isn't necessary. You don't have to ask us to do anything."

Tsunami raised her head slowly to face Kakashi, who had closed his eye in a smiling manner. "We ninja may lead a brutal lifestyle, but we do have a code of honor; a ninja way that we all live by. And mine won't allow me to simply abandon this town."

"Yeah!" Naruto added, showcasing a huge smile. "Helping people in need is what real ninja do!"

Sasuke closed his eyes as he allowed a smirk to creep onto his face. "It would be a real pain to have traveled all this way and not even finish the mission. We wouldn't get paid then."

"W-we're all going to see this mission through to the end. We'll do everything we can to help!" Hinata smiled warmly as she assured the young mother.

Kakashi helped Tsunami stand up onto her feet. "As you can see, not a single one of us would dream of abandoning this mission. You have nothing to worry about. We promise."

At those last two words, Tsunami's eyes watered with fresh new tears. Within moments, the woman grabbed hold onto the silver-haired jonin.

The three genin all dawned devious smirks as they witnessed their jonin's shocked eye expression at Tsunami's sudden hug.

After calming himself down, Kakashi patted the woman's back lightly as Tsunami continued to sigh on his shoulder.

From the opposite end of the table, Tazuna watched with watery eyes. _These ninja…really are something else…_The older man could no longer hold back his tears as they began streaming down the sides of his face. However, these weren't tears of sorrow…but tears of joy.

"Thank you all…so much."

**Later on after dinner was finished, Tazuna and Tsunami retired to their own rooms. The ninja did the same in returning to their shared guest bedroom…**

Kakashi was sitting up in his dark green sleeping bag, reading make-out paradise in his pajamas. The jonin was wearing his sleeveless, dark blue top (with the mask of course) and his baggy pants of the same color. His sleeping bag was set in the upper corner of the room. A few feet away from him, Sasuke was setting up his own sleeping bag. Having given Tsunami his shirt as a part of her laundry, the Uchiha boy was left wearing only his white shorts. Naruto's orange sleeping bag lay on the other side of Kakashi, closer towards the door.

The room was relatively silent. But that silence was soon disturbed as wet footsteps walking down the wooden hallway, echoed through the night. The footsteps paused just outside the sliding door, which slid open a few seconds later.

"Alright, who's next for the shower?" Naruto asked as he walked into the room, still dripping with water and having only a towel to cover his lower half.

"We've showered already." Sasuke responded. "The only one who I think hasn't is…" his gaze shifted over towards the Hyuga girl who was huddled up in the furthest corner away, sitting with her knees tucked into her chest. Only her eyes were visible, as the rest of her face was buried in her knees. She was shaken up and her face was blushing red.

"Hey Hinata, you gonna take a shower or what?" The blonde haired boy inquired asked.

But Hinata was too lost in her own thoughts to hear Naruto. _I…I can't believe this! I can't believe this! I'm alone in a room with three men! I know Iruka-sensei mentioned these types of situations before but…*sigh*…I thought I could handle this! It was fine back when we were all outside. But now...we're all going to be sleeping close together…in the same room…with Naruto…_Hinata's face burned redder and redder the more she thought about her situation.

"Hinata are you alright?" Naruto asked, his face suddenly appearing a few inches away from hers as he kneeled down in front of her.

"Naruto!" Hinata's eyes widened, while her face discovered a new shade of red. As much as she could, Hinata pressed her back into the wall behind her, in a poor attempt to put distance between her and Naruto. However she only received a few inches of extra space as her back was already close to the wall. Curse this room's lack of space!

Though to be fair, it was only meant to house one guest, not four.

The blonde ninja could only blink at his teammate's strange reaction with a blank look of confusion on his face.

"Um…Naruto?" Kakashi called out. "Maybe you shouldn't get so close to Hinata wearing THAT."

But Naruto wasn't paying his sensei any mind as he came closer towards his teammate's face. Something was clearly worrying him. "Hey, Hinata. Are you alright? Your face is really red."

_N-Naruto is this close to me…and wearing only a towel. _The Hyuga forced her eyes shut for a moment, attempting to block off any foreign thoughts that would cause her to faint.

When Hinata didn't respond to Naruto's questions, he took it upon himself to take her temperature. "Did you catch a cold on the way here?" He wondered as he placed his hand on her forehead. His touch caused the red blush in her face to spread down to her neck.

_Naruto…really doesn't know anything about girls, does he?_ Kakashi couldn't help but stare at the interesting situation unfolding before him, as he just began to realize something. _Then again…I guess it isn't the easiest thing for a girl to be stuck in such a small room with three males. Maybe I should have asked Tsunami for another room._

While Kakashi sat up, considering whether or not he should see if there are any other rooms available in the house, Sasuke was sitting in the corner, fuming. He was sick and tired of watching those two, and he was unable to force himself to sleep. _Alright, this has to end._ The Uchiha boy finally decided to take matters into his own hands as he rose out of his sleeping bag and stomped over towards his two teammates.

"Hey loser!" Sasuke called out to the blonde haired boy.

"What do you want?" Naruto growled.

Without warning, Sasuke hammered his fist down on top of Naruto's head. "Don't you have any common sense whatsoever? You don't go hanging around girls half naked!" He scolded.

"Hey!" Naruto whined as he rubbed the top of his cranium.

"And you!" Sasuke turned to face Hinata "If you have a problem with this idiot, tell him to put on some clothes already! Don't just stand there and act like you don't know how to talk!" He ordered.

"But…I…" Hinata lowered her head as she began to play with her fingers again, still too flustered to respond.

"Alright, Sasuke! That's it! You don't have to be mean to Hinata too!" Naruto yelled as he prepared to stand up to defend his teammate. However, he had completely forgotten that he didn't tie his towel around his waist when he came out the shower, and he stood up without grabbing a secure hold on it. The untied towel slipped from around his waist as he rose from the ground, and slid down onto the wooden floor, giving the tomato-faced Hyuga a sight that she wouldn't soon forget.

Kakashi and Sasuke could do nothing but face palm at the Uzumaki's idiocy.

"Oh dear…" Kakashi sighed.

"What a complete moron." Sasuke muttered.

The Hyuga's face went from a bright red to a burning bloody crimson at the sight in front of her. Though Naruto quickly picked up the towel to re-cover his privates, it was too late. She had seen what she had seen and she couldn't stop the darkness from claiming her this time. Losing her consciousness, Hinata plopped face first onto the ground.

"She fainted…" Naruto stated as he stared at his teammate's unmoving body.

"Yeah…She's going to need another room" Kakashi sighed.

A/N: Okay, I'll admit right now, that I really don't care much for Inari, so I decided to just get rid of him altogether. Oh and in case anyone is wondering, I am planning to screw around with all the different couples I like. As you may have noticed, the ninja are staying in the land of waves for three weeks instead of one. *hint, hint* So there will be a lot more to this part of the story then just preparing for the next Zabuza battle. Oh, but don't worry, there will still be fights. Can't be a Naruto story without action! Til next time!


End file.
